If it was protected, even slightly in the G/C then it will probably drop all its buds if you do not keep it in similar conditions. Plant it out when the weather is much more clement.

This may be repeated as my answer from a few minutes ago seems to have disappeared into the ether, but I was agreeing with Owdboggy.
A camellia in a 6inch pot at this time of year will need hardening off. Keep it in a cool porch or unheated greenhouse if you can, so that it gets plenty of light but is protected from the cold, wind and rain (or sleet/snow). If you have a fine day you could put it outside during the day and bring it under cover at night. You could also wrap bubblewrap around the sides of the pot (not under the pot) to provide a bit of insulation.

Thank you both. At the moment it is in an open sided shelter, with the pot wrapped and placed inside a terracotta container. Tomorrow I will place it in the greenhouse, which is unheated. I'd hate it to lose those buds!

Janey, sad to say, but those buds are very likely to drop, GCs shouldn't be selling shrubs in bud at this time of the year. The best time to buy and plant a Camellia is autumn.

Oh no Mg.....well that's a lesson learnt...it'll have to take it's chance!

Has it got a lot of buds?
I would remove some if it has, leave a few of the biggest and remove the smallest if there are two or more, you want it to develop good roots

Quite a few Pam,its about 18in X 18in.....an impulse buy!

Personally I wouldn't remove any of the buds right now.

It won't hurt to leave them on a while I guess, its just that I don't like overstressing young plants.........
I have a young one myself you see, mine was an impulse buy from Aldi!

Camellias are hardy in the UK. You can plant it out now or keep it in the pot until April when new roots will start to grow. It's far more important that you get the soil conditions right, bearing in mind that the plant is ericaceous so likes an acidic soil environment. If you live in a hard water area you won't be able to use tap water on it either without adding sequestrine.

Pamg then you probably do need to remove at least some of the buds...
Bendipa if the camellia was under cover in the GC then I wouldn't recommend planting in straight into the ground. Also camellias will cope perfectly well with a neutral soil just not an alkaline one.

Not according to the RHS, MG.

"Being ericaceous plants, camellias require an acid soil. If your soil isn't acid then consider growing your camellia in a container."

The RHS isn't always right Bendipa - we grew our Camellia in neutral soil for many years until it was killed by a very heavy frost which lasted for about two weeks. Most plants/trees/shrubs said to only grown in acidic or alkaline soils we grow well in a neutral soil. The RHS is giving you optimal growing conditions. Let's get real they grow in China in dense, ‘heavy’ soils with a high percentage of small clay particles. I would agree that Janey's soil isn't ideal for any tree/shrub that like an acidic soil... One of the reasons folk need to look at what their soil pH is before they buy anything!

Well my soil is neutral with a good admixture of lime mortar and our Camellia thrived until the last bad winter saw it off. They might be classed as hardy in the UK, but sadly not here. That one was the only one we have ever managed to get to flowering size in the garden. All the others died of cold.

I agree with Mg, I was going to say that my soil is neutral and my camellia thriveswith a regular iron tonic and ericaceous feed......it faces west but a sharp frost can put paid to the buds , especially if they are nearly open.

it almost died in the pot as it got so big, it went in the ground backing onto the half fence of the patio, theres a honeysuckle, a sunspot euonymus, a red berberis and at the end a pyracantha surrounding it so it fights for its space, only 3 feet or so with an access gap bodywidth then a Magnolia stellata cross.....I think they keep each other warm!

My, this has grown into a huge debate...lol! For the time being, I'll leave the Camellia in the GH and then repot it after flowering.......if the buds stay on that is!.....into a much larger container as it's pot bound.
The area of garden where I'll eventually plant it is sheltered and shady with a couple of pieris and a Japanese Acer growing quite well. Lots of compost over the years has been added there and I feed the plants with ericaceous food over spring and summer.

I'll wade in again... If you're going to wait until the flowers are over before planting in the ground, keep a close eye on it. It could be a few months before it has finished flowering and if it is, as you say, pot bound then it might welcome being moved up to the next size pot just to give the roots a bit of space. I would check whether the roots are coming through the bottom of the pot or (less likely) whether the roots have compacted into the pot so that you can't see any compost when you ease it out of the pot.

Thanks Urbanite, I'll check it over tomorrow and take it from there.....thank you for your advice!

And thank you to everyone for all your interesting input too.