Hello, Michael. The most common reason is the weather. Wide temperature swings & too wet/too dry conditions can cause the buds to drop. For example, if the weather stays warm during fall and a sudden freeze appears, it may kill the buds. This year, I had bad weather that killed the buds in some of my camellias while others responded by flowering in March instead of December/January. Camellias that bloom late in the season suffer this problem more than those which bloom early.

Inability to go dormant because of too much nitrogen fertilizer is another reason. The nitrogen that you directly add to the plant plus nitrogen from lawn fertilizers can drift & accumulate in large amounts and keep the plant in growth mode when it should be going dormant.

In case you are not familiar what is considered as "too much" or are fertilizing too often, I fertilize 1-2 weeks after the buds begin to swell in spring and twice more. That is all. My second application is in late May; the last application is around September 1st. You can use a general purpose slow release fertilizer (NPK Ratio 10-10-10) per label instructions. I use 57-113 grams of an organic fertilizer called cottonseed meal (depending on the size of my plants).

Another reason for bud drop is an infestation of the camellia bud mite. Oil emulsion sprays can be used to combat this pest, provided temperatures are not hot. At other times, use contact insecticides like Dursban or Sevin per label directions; you will probably have to re-apply once or twice to completely get rid of these pests. By the way, spraying plants with a miticide as soon as flower buds have set will usually control bud mites.

Finally, some insecticides can cause bud drop when they come in contact with certain plants. If you have applied any such chemicals, check the label to see if it has a warning that says it can cause bud drop.

Does that help you?
Luis

The worst time to re-pot the plant is when the plant is flowering or when it is developing flower buds. Camellias develop new buds starting around July.

The BEST time to re-pot the plant would be when it is dormant (late fall or during winter). The next best time would be in spring; note: if your plant blooms late (in spring) normally then wait until all blooming has ceased.

Bottom line... If you have to re-pot at an inconvenient time, you have to re-pot at an inconvenient time. Just be careful, use some TLC and monitor the plant for the two weeks. If you lose the flower buds one year, you will get them back the next year. Better yet, get a backup camellia plant!