Here is a closeup of the first plant mentioned in my previous message. Image link:

Rose (Rosa sp.).

You raise an interesting question. Years ago I knew a man who ALWAYS planted pairs in every spot...two trees, two daylilies, whatever. His reasoning was that they could coexist until one showed clear superiority, and then if he needed to he would take out the weaker one. Worked for him, but it made me scratch my head. In really good soil I sometimes plant more than one...like three shrub roses in a hole the size of a bathtub, to form a large mass fairly quickly. Today at the base of an arbor I am planting a Parade and a Thomas Affleck in the same large hole, hoping that the Affleck will cover the Parade's exposed legs. (The flowers are almost exactly the same color.) On the other side I am planting a Crepuscule and a daylily of the same light yellow. That's about as wild and crazy I as I ever get in the garden. (It's okay to laugh.) Laura

The USDA has at least parts of Baltimore as zone 7b, but it's still a fair question if the landscaper has experience with this variety doing well there. My suspicion is that the 'Yuletide' that isn't doing well was planted too deeply, but there are other possibilities that need to be investigated (root-chewing critters, planted too far from irrigation source, etc.) Since some of the plant seems to be fine while the rest looks like dead wood, I also wonder if part of the plant got damaged somehow... herbicide drift or something falling on the plant? It can take a while for camellias to "show" that they've been damaged, so the connection might not be obvious. I agree that if the dead wood gets cut out, the plant will probably survive if babied in a pot, but that's not what you paid for. If your landscaper put the camellia in improperly, they should replace it for you. Good luck, Virginia