If you still have the plastic pot it came in, there might be a tag with a name somewhere on it. It's sometimes in small letters near the barcode.

Seems very early for a japonica! More likely to be a winter blooming williamsii hybrid, something like 'Winter's Fire'. But agree that specific ID may be impossible :-)

If you are on the west coast or anywhere else they have a lot of customers many camellias at garden centers come from Monrovia.

http://plants.monrovia.com/search?w=camellia%20&view=grid

Just wondering... can you elaborate on how come you do not have a name if you just bought it today? Can you not return back to the plant nursery (I am assuming it was a nursery) and see if they can help you identify it? Some places can check their list of camellias ordered and at least provide you with a list of the names and then you can individually check them out online. Still could be a japonica (like April Melody or Christmas Beauty) or a hybrid. I have some japonicas that start in November/December and others in February/March. They are also sensitive to cold weather and will delay or stop blooming if it is very cold when it originally wants to bloom. So it may be normal to bloom now or it may have wanted to bloom in December and is now delayed blooming. It is quite nice.

If you have a large cup of coffee, you can also check here:

https://www.americancamellias.com/care-culture-resources/camellia-encyclopedia

OP is located in the UK so a) unlikely to be a Monrovia plant, and b) perhaps UK garden centers are not so diligent about labeling??

HI,

I bought it from Tesco, a huge supermarket chain store in the UK. No name tag - just sold as a Camellia - in a basket that reads Happy Mothers Day. Haha. I guess it’ll be a mystery. I might give it a name of my own. I just wanted to see if I could find info on it. Silly of me to ask really, bring so many varieties out there. Thanks for the replies. :)

Same kind may be at a nearby independent garden center at this time, with variety labeling.

I found a picture of Lady Campbell in TESCO's website. But I am not sure; thought I would at least let you know since the color seems to match well. It does look very nice and I see you have even more buds waiting to open. You may want to plan getting a larger planter for it later on; from the 2nd pic, the planter looks small (but maybe it is the the way the picture came out)..

Your bloom pictures are much clearer and display the blooms well opened but Tesco's pic is just one and is off center (taken from one side of the bloom). It also looks like the bloom in their pic has been open for a while (the petals are well separated from each other).

Call it Red Mystery if you cannot find the name! ;o)

https://www.tesco.com/direct/camellia-japonica-lady-campbell-1-plant-in-9cm-pot/173-2262.prd?source=others

Hey Louis

im planting my Camellia in the garden once the weather improves. Ground is covered in snow right now. I’m enjoying the flowers indoors until then.

Thanks for looking - appreciate it :)

No problem. I understand about having to wait due to weather! A friend of mine went to visit her daughter who lives in the UK and said she could not go out much due to the weather (she is elderly so snow or cold is a no-no for her.)

I have two potted shrubs that I plan to put on the ground as soon as we get to mid month. By then, I can see the extended weather forecasts and determine if there will be any winter issues up ahead. So far, I just see a few cold nights.

Darren, you might want to check out online photos of Camellia japonica 'Guillio Nuccio', Camellia japonica 'Akashigata' AKA 'Lady Clare' and Camellia japonica 'R. L. Wheeler'. They are similar-looking dark pink-to-light-red with big bosses of yellow stamens.

Here are a few links to photo galleries; it might be a good idea to check out online UK nursery sites for camellias most commonly available on your side of The Pond.

http://www.atlanticcoastcamelliasociety.org/Camelliae%20Floris%20Bibliotheca/pictures.php

https://www.americancamellias.com/care-culture-resources/camellia-encyclopedia

February is definitely not too early for japonicas, at least not here. The early japonicas here are already done, and now we're enjoying the mid-season to late camellias.

Virginia

February is still very early for them to be blooming here in the PNW or in the UK. Neither location has high daytime temps in winter :-)) What are in bloom now are the winter flowering hybrids like xwilliamsii. Japonicas won't shown much until early to mid-April and can continue on through May.

Thank you so much for your replies. I visited my local garden centre today and they had it there!!!! I now know it’s name. Are you ready?! ......

Dr King.

What a bloody awful name ! Jo

still blooming beautifully though.

Planting it out next week :)