My April Dawn is about 9 feet high after maybe 7 years. Also, I do not think it would perform very well with that much sun. And the blooms which are mostly white will sunburn in that exposure, so maybe you can find a different variety. Four to five feet will be difficult to maintain for any japonica.

Camellia japonica "Kumasaka" reportedly can take a bit more sun, is very hardy, and can take shearing as well. I'd look into that one.

Camellias are often grown in full sun here. I have never seen any signs of "sunburn" and suspect they bloom far too early for that to be a legitimate concern.

Unfortunately Kumasaka isn't hardy in Zone 7, according to the interwebs. Given that April Dawn is a slow grower I may just give it a go in the space I have in mind and see what happens - I can always move it or prune if required.

Here's a Kumasaka growing in zone 7a. It's known to be among the hardiest of the japonicas. But get whatever you want.

Wow, Dave - that is a gorgeous camellia! Great to know it can thrive in 7a. It's far larger than the space I had in mind can accommodate, although now that I see it I am wondering if I might rearrange some other things to put one in an area with more room to spread.

I have a feeling that would be an attractive camellia even when not in bloom.

I'd like to refer OP to Heruga's post. Some responses are better than others.

I am in Maryland's NE corner which is cold zone 7. Infrequently I see C. japonica and I slam on the brakes and take a picture.

Just out of curiosity how many of these camellias do you see in NY's Hudson Valley as you drive around? Logee's sells them along with many tropicals which I assume are for g/h or conservatory use.

Sam, that is part of my hesitation with camellias in general - you don't really see them very much around here, and they aren't regularly stocked at any of the nurseries I frequent. We are at the very southern tip of the Hudson Valley region - most of the Hudson Valley is 6b or colder, and it would probably be safer for me to act as though we are 6b as well. If I decide to try a camellia, I'll wait until spring to plant so that it has a full season to get established before its first winter.