Hello, canishel. I too agree about the potting soil
comment. Also, I could not really tell much from the second photo but I don’t think
an insect caused this. It may be camellia leaf gall which is a fungal
problem... and which usually occurrs during wet spring months... but is not a
big deal (sort of an aesthetic issue). Just remove and destroy the infected
parts in the trash.

I am not sure what to say about the lack of blooms. It is
unclear if the shrub is producing flower buds but the buds are not opening or
if the plant is not developing any flower buds. Can you elaborate a little on
this?

Luis

Luis,

I don't think it ever produced buds.

I'm thinking that something is the matter with the native soil in the original location: the leaves are paler than the other camellias planted elsewhere and which are thriving, and a leucothoe axillaris struggled until I moved it. Hence, the move to a pot for observation.

I had a camellia that did not produce much blooms several years ago. In this case, it had watering issues (not enough water) from summer through Fall. I observed little flower bud production and worse, only two flowers opened. It was 4-5' high so I suspected something was wrong but it took a while before I found problems with the drip irrigation that were causing the soil to get dry, then wet, then dry again, etc. Not what one wants when flower buds are forming! Is your soil uniformly moist during summer/fall?

Is your soil uniformly moist during summer/fall?

Varies from year to year. I use a garden hose when it's dry.

I'll just keep it in a pot for a while to see if there's any appreciable growth.

Morning sun plus zone 6b is the problem. This variety needs winter shade for most of the day, ESPECIALLY mornings in your cold zone

I’d move it to a shadier location and maybe wrap it the first couple winters.