Wow, it sounds like your plant is quite eager to flower now, florcitas! Must be a little confused if December is its normal blooming time. Probably being indoors and then planted outdoors did it.

Under normal circumstances:

The American Camellia Society suggests fertilizing monthly from Spring through September but I would also consider when does your area in New Jersey experience its first frost of the season. It is usually a good idea to fertilize 30 days prior to the first frost date (or more). If this date happens on October 15 then fertilize in early-to-mid September. The A.C.S. recommends using cottonseed meal or a general purpose slow-release fertilizer with a NPK Ratio of around 10-10-10. In the spring, two weeks after your last frost date, begin fertilizing monthly with cottonseed meal or with a chemical fertilizer.

Under your special conditions:

Plants undergoing transplant shock -like yours- should not be fertilized as this add more stress. For what may be the last feeding of the season, you have choices: do not feed it; use a lower nitrogen and higher pottasium fertilizer (lower/higher than the normally recommended 10-10-10 one) that so your shrub goes dormant soon and is better prepared to battle old man winter in New Jersey; or just sprinkle some pottasium and then water the plant.

There are two problems to consider with winter. One is lower temperatures and the other is drying winds. These can affect flower buds and stems. But since your plant is about to bloom now, you just need to concentrate on hardening the stems. Reducing nitrogen-rich fertilizers in the Fall helps by aiding the plant in its quest for dormancy. A location that protects from winds will also aid greatly. Or an object/shrub that will divert the winds elsewhere will work too. Burlap sounds like a good idea during the worst times but remember that the plant will need some sun light and you cannot leave it covered all winter with burlap. If your ground freezes, discontinue watering. If it does not freeze and the weather is dry, water once every week or once every two weeks.

Zone 6 is what I call 'hostile territory' for camellias. Most camellias do well there if grown in containers and brought inside during the worst of winter. There are some early blooming and late blooming varieties developed especially for your new zone (with names like April Series for the late flowering ones, Winter Series for mid-Autumn blooming ones, etc) but I am not sure how this one unknown camellia variety will react when it realizes it is not in an Alabama Winter anymore. Of concern is the normal blooming time of December (very cold in NJ) so you may often loose blooms and/or flower buds due to temperatures. I hope you can make it a go there.

If you live near a coastal zone, the temperate climates may help greatly. Otherwise, these are average high/lows for Newark: Dec 43/30, Jan 38/24, Feb 41/27, Mar 50/34. So pay attention to the shrub more often from Dec-Mar as you will often be below freezing. Flower buds are damaged when temps go below 15 degrees, opened blooms when below 28 degrees F and plants have trouble when it is colder than 10 degrees F.

Go over to the American Camellia Society (A.C.S.) Website for additional reading material. Click on the link below. There is also information on cold hardy camellias and on propagation if you are concerned and want a back up in case the outside plant does not make it.

Does this help you, florcitas?
Luis

Here is a link that might be useful: Caring for camellias by the A.C.S.

Thank you Luis. That was extremely helpful.

By the way, just so you know: camellias can develop their buds months before they bloom. Unless you are seeing color in those buds, I'd not hold my breath! (I'm hoping, though, that your camellia is one of the early early bloomers!)