I don't know a thing about them but after seeing yours I am doing some shopping! Looks to be a cool project!
Grimmy
You could have significant problems with most cultivars of Camelia that far north, if you don't have some sort of cold greenhouse.
I think this variety is cool. Shows some promise. Most of the camellia bonsai Ive seen are VERY large, however, since the blossoms tend to be on the big side. There are some with small and even tiny flowers, though. This one looks like it's in between large and medium...
FWIW, I'd plant it out and let it go for five or ten years to develop a bigger, more expressive trunk and root spread. Roots and nebari on some of the camellia bonsai I've seen in the U.S. (there aren't many big camellia bonsai in this country) have been only fair. The species is capable of producing pretty good nebari if you look at some of the older Japanese bonsai
Here's one that belongs to a friend of mine-developed from a yard-grown tree from southern Va.
