Well either you're mistaking leaf buds for flower buds or the flowers are aborting. Finding out why would be the next step. Other than that, when you posted "ever" I thought this was a comparatively well along specimen that might be in too much shade. However, if you bought it in a gallon pot 5 years ago it's not necessarily old enough to bloom well, believe it or not. Growers must really pour on fertilizer or use some other method to get those little twigs to bud up heavily, it's common to have them then grow for years without flowering after bringing them home and planting them out in ordinary home garden conditions.

Is it possible the flower buds are actually freezing off there? Do you have other camellias on your place or in the neighborhood to compare to?

If you will do a little reading in the camellia literature about the variety 'Spellbound,' you will discover that its more common name is 'Marie Bracey.' 'Marie Bracey,' aka 'Spellbound,' is an early-flowering _Camellia japonica_ that blooms in the Southeast as early as October and November. An early japonica should have big, fat unmistakable flower buds in the late summer or early fall. Unless you saw the plant in bloom when you bought it, how can you be sure that it really is a 'Marie Bracey,' aka 'Spellbound?' It could have been mislabeled. In addition, depending on their size at planting time, newly planted camellias can take a long time to become established well enough to bloom. You might consider yanking that plant up and throwing it out if you'd rather not wait for it to establish its blooming cycle. Once again, consult the camellia literature for varieties that are described as "free flowering" and "vigorous."

Thanks for the ideas.

It is true - I got this plant as a 1gal. specimen and it might have been mislabeled. Now that I think about ones I have seen in bloom, my plant is still pretty small.

The buds aren't fat, so I guess they really are leaf buds (doh!).
Guess I'll just keep waiting...and perhaps start fertilizing.

seahorse