Looks like it just hasn't flowered YET! There's still time, be patient. You obviously know that the flower buds can be dropped if it's dry in summer/ autumn / winter, but there are fat buds there which will open when they're ready. We had a big camellia in our last garden which used to flower from before Christmas to the end of May.

One point though, it won't be happy in that size pot for much longer....

Is it in Ericaceous compost,Vinisroz ? ..it only looks a young one,so maybe it hasn't settled in to the pot yet..It's important to keep it well watered in the summer,when it is forming the buds for the next year..maybe it just needs more time,as it looks healthy enough..

Beattie - thanks for that. In my mind Camellias should be one of the first things to flower, and yet I have an Aubretia & a Red Hot Poker in full bloom but nothing from this yet. I guess I just need a bit of patience - it's something I can be a bit short on at times! I'm keeping an eye on the pot, I think it's bigger than it appears in the picture so hopefully I have a couple of years yet.

Bloomer, Yes it's in Ericaceous compost & I kept a close eye on it last summer to make sure it didn't dry out, and used a Camellia feed as per instructions on the bottle :)

Thanks for the advice - I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something obvious!

I'm sure it wiil be fine,Vinisroz,most of us are impatient gardeners :o)

Both the pot the camellia is in and the one the acer is in appear to be standing on the concrete. In both cases they need to be raised up on 'feet' so that there is free drainage - there is drainage in the pots? Make sure your camellia does not get the early morning sun, if the buds have been frosted overnight the sun will burn them and they will drop off - even at the size your are. I would also agree with Beattie that the pot is on the small size, I'm gauging its size from the watering can next to it.

I agree with everything said about pot size etc but it looks to me, in your close up picture, that, although you have fed it Camellia feed, the leaves look a little less of a deep green than is good for the plant. A move into a bigger pot might be of benefit to it, and some more feed as well.

That's true Dorjac the leaves do have a yellowish tinge to them.

There are broken tiles and gravel in the base of both pots for drainage, but "feet" have been added to my list of things to buy next time I'm out.

I do have a square pot that is larger that I could repot the Camellia to - is now a good time to do that or should I wait and see if it flowers?

I'll also give it a good feed - I haven't yet done so this year as I didn't want to encourage new growth that may get caught by any cold snaps.

The pot is facing SW so only gets afternoon sun - I learned that lesson the hard way with a Camellia at a previous house :-(

Are there actual drainage holes in both pots Vinisroz? I would wait until after flowering to repot now - always provided the square pot has drainage holes in it! I would suggest that you need to feed the camellia now with an ericaceous feed.

Thanks for the advice Moon_grower :-) yes there are a couple of holes in the bottom of each pot - I'd never buy a pot without.

Hum, in a big pot you really need more than a couple of holes... think of the size of the hole in a 6 inch clay pot. I guess as long as you have a good layer of gravel in the bottom it should be okay.

Looking back at your comment on expecting a camellia to be the first thing to flower firstly I have no such expectation but, and it is a big but, this year flowering is all to pot! We have a plants in flower that are normal over by early March and other plants in flower that usually don't bloom until late May! That's what gardening is about!