I kind of had that feeling. Thanks.

Many times, when the temps go down, the cold damage is caused by dehydration. As a result, I ck mulch and water deeply the night before temps are going to crash. That may reduce the number of brown flower buds and minimize the need for moving the shrub. But you decide what you want to do, of course.

I agree that flower buds will not immediately turn brown on the next day. Part of that is that the plant is semi dormant but it may brown the flower buds once temps warm up for a long time (either when Spring arrives or when a long warm spell arrives... and then watch out if the warm spell is followed by more cold temps).

Oh brother. I will keep an eye on it. Looks like things are going to moderate for a while here in RI. I watered it a bunch b/f the last drop in temps. If I can just get the plant to live for its first year outside, I'll be happy. Of course, would like to see nice camellia flowers so have my fingers crossed. The move is still under consideration -- while the present location is pretty good, its that break in dormancy that I would like to try to avoid. Thanks very much for your thoughts.

Thanks for sharing the pics of your healthy looking camellia! I looked at your historical temperature this past January, and I think your plant stands a very good chance surviving without any frost damage. Your lowest temperature, according to Weather Underground, was around Jan 21 and 31, when it dipped down to about 1 ºF, still within the Zone 7A range. Spring is almost here, and we will find out very soon.

Thanks for that info. The lowest temp I have seen is so far is 1. I looked at a link one poster supplied from the Missouri Botanical Society which indicated April Dawn was successfully grown in 6b (which is the zone for that society). Spring, while I certainly look forward to it, may be as unpredictable as the rest of the seasons and areas have become. A friend of mine lives in Seattle and she is now sitting in 15 inches of snow. BUT -- if we go by meteorological spring, not too far away - Mar 1.

Next year I'm going to find some burlap wrap - I think that's probably better than my old sweatshirts and many layers of plastic to protect from the wind. But at least sheltered from that most drying of elements. Thanks again.