I would check the soil to see if the left one is not getting water or if the soil is overly wet.

Then I would pull it out and temporarily grow it in a pot while it recovers. When removing it from the spot, I would inspect the roots for circling roots or for damage by pests.

'Yuletide' camellias are not the best choice for your region because they are really zone 7b shrubs. I lost one to cold, so I know what I am talking about. Hopefully your landscape designer will replace them with a hardier plant.

There are numerous so-called 'hardy' fall blooming camellias out there. Visit Camellia Forest website to look them over. But, even hardy camellias north of the 'camellia belt', as a rule, benefit from some initial winter protection at least for several years. This could be in the form of a semi-permeable wrap to keep winter sun and winds of of them. Even then, zone busting winters can tear them up.

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

Thanks for all those interesting thoughts. I planted it myself at the direction of the landscaper. The black stuff is mulch, but looks darker in the pic than it is in life. We have a nice big tree that I think protects the west side of the house from the harshest afternoon sun. The nursery guarantees their shrubs for 3 months, which isn't all that helpful for fall plantings I guess.

Maybe the best plan for now is to take it out of the ground and put in a pot for a year and plant a more hardy fall-bloomer in its place. There is a small amount of new growth on it now, but not nearly as much as the other one and it's still quite sad looking. I will also give some extra protection over the winter.

Again, many thanks for the tips, all.

My best advice would be to cut out the dead growth, then plant it (not too deeply) in a pot with some good dirt and organic plant food like holly-tone or cottonseed meal or something along those lines, then put it where it will get a little sun (that is, not in dense shade or full sun) and don't let it dry out, but don't water if the soil is still moist.

Since you're in a northerly zone for camellias, I would also try to protect it from freezes over this next winter- maybe moving the pot into the garage or shed temporarily if the forecast calls for freezy weather. Just a bit of extra care while the plant is still recovering, not indefinitely...

It should recover fine, but camellias grow slowly so it will take a little while for it to 'catch up' to your other 'Yuletide'.

Good luck,

Virginia