Shi Shi Gashira would be my choice, simply because it blooms in late fall and into winter when nothing much else does. There are so many other spring flowering options.

Also, sasanquas can take more direct sun. Go with Shi Shi. But be warned, once the Camellia bug hits you, you will be looking for more!

You may actually be more of a zone 7B around Greensboro. All the better for camellias!

Shi Shi is a beautiful deep pink and survived some colder z 7 winters. Grows more low and spreading for me, which is a nice form, looks “ grounded” in the landscape.

I’m not sure how it did during the recent 3 degrees F winter, as I moved house. Severe damage, maybe death, to massive old white sassanqua camellias of unknown variety in my new yard and around town.

For new plantings I may order some of the “ Winter” series as supposed to be more cold- hardy. But may try Shi Shi again.

If those 1-gal’s are healthy and well-rooted, that sounds like a reasonable price and should establish well. Problem here is most nurseries offer larger 3-5 gal or more which are way more expensive and are a bear to plant in our soil. You just about can’t get 1-gal shrubs at the independent nurseries. So I do keep my eye out for when a box store gets in some smaller sizes of anything on my want list.

@marmiegard_z7b, the website said that my local Lowes had (5) Shi Shi in stock, so I drove down to get them. By time I got there they only had 4 camellias, and they weren't labeled Shi Shi! Just "Camellia". So I took a chance and grabbed all four.

If you're looking for 1G plants then your local Lowes might have them.

@Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A, I'm actually in Wilkesboro, about an hour West of Greensboro. I just put Greensboro in my name because it was recommended to list the nearest city that someone would recognize :-)

My area has always been weird, though. We're in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains, so sometimes we get the weather from the piedmont and sometimes we get the weather from the mountains!

In fact, just 15 minutes from my home is Brushy Mountain, where people might have drastically different weather than me. It's been 50F at my house but snowing at their house.