camellia will grow best outdoors in California. (The inside of a house
usually is too dry - it has too little humidity), and certain kinds of
diseases and fungi spread very rapidly indoors, without air circulation. If
your balcony is pretty shady, that's ok - camellias do not need a lot of
direct sun. For indoor flowers, probably the most successful one under the
most common circumstances is the african violet. Many people have success
with christmas cactus also.
"Frank" wrote in message
om...
Hello experts,

I'm new to gardening and I'd love to learn. Here is california, san
francisco bay area, I guess zone 10/11? I do not have any yard space.
:-( I live in a condo which has a northwest facing balcony. I saw
beautiful camellia, gardenia and azalea/rhododendron in the stores
now. I'm very eager to try them. I've bought a 5gallon camellia Tom
Knudsen and replanted it in a 13" pot with the help of home depot
expert. I put it in my family room which faces southeast. I put it by
the window to get some sun. I checked books and found some saying that
it is an outdoor plant, some saying it can stay in the containor.
Looks like it is not good for indoor? I feel very upset.

My question is that if I put the plant close to the window so it gets
the sun through window and blinds, is this considered as "direct sun"
or "shade" or "filter sun"? Should I keep it in my family room for
some warm sun or should I move it to the balcony without sun exposure?
What are the choices?

I really want to add some colorful flowers at home. I don't like color
leaf plants. I have peace lily. What are robust flower bearing plants
that can grow indoor? Can I try to grow camellia, gardenia and
azalea/rhododendron indoor?

Thanks a lot for your help!
Tiffany