A good resource for camellia advice in your area may be the folks at Roslyn Nursery in Dix Hills, NY, which has long carried many of those varieties and they are very knowledgeable about growing camellias in your climate. See link below. Here is a link that might be useful: Roslyn Nursery

Frances, if you can tell me the approximate area you are in I can better answer your question. Keep in mind, that gardening zones have changed based on data from more recent years and that many areas have moved from zone 6 to zone 7. I know that I have mine planted on the southwest part of the house--they are shaded in the spring, summer and fall by a Japanese Maple but have full sun in the winter. Mine started to bloom in December this year and is still in bloom! I have others that are on the shaded eastern side of the house. Those, have leaves that are greener but because the site is cooler, they still have not come into bloom. The ones growiing on the Southwest side are growing strong but I do notice that one has color that has a faint bronze shade to it--due strong winter sun. When it gets more shady after the deciduous tree leaf out, the color does seem to get greener. They are fairly easy in most of NJ actually--assuming you are not in a more mountainous/colder region. I feed them fertilizer for acid-loving plants. One more thing, don't know if they are an issue in your area, but deer will eat camellias (leaves, and flowers). Remember, they are in the tea family and in a bad winter, they'll be one of the few smaller bushes that is everygreen.

My favorites have already been mentioned a few times, C. japonica "Debutante", a truly beautiful double peony type in shell pink, and "Nuccio's pearl", double white with shell pink edges on the interior petals. The flower shape is as important to me as color. Both of these beautiful shrubs are very vigorous and dark green. A perfect foil for the flowers! "Nuccio's Jem" is also a winner in pure angelic white. Enjoy

I have the beautiful with double Nuccio's Gem, the pink and white swirled (huge flowers) Frankie Wynn just declining, and a mystery double red. The red is really cool, as the inner petals are shorter and more dense like a pom pom. There is also a small flowered, single pink with yellow stamens blooming. Again, unsure of it's name. All of these were given to me by Girlsaylor who used to be on this forum but moved to WA state. This is their regular bloom time. I am thinking they may rely more on light hours than on temps to regulate bloom time? I have photos of the first three if you are interested in seeing them, please just email. GGG