Hello, helenawall. Well, can you describe the conditions in these shaded lcoations a little bit more? Or can you post a picture?

Plants can successfully grow in shaded locations sometimes because light bounces off nearby surfaces producing "bright shade". The front of my house is one example.

I have some azaleas, camellias and hydrangeas growing there for decades. During most of the year, they are in shade. Only some of the hydrangeas ever get a little sun (in the summer). Because the plants are close to the edge where the shade ends and sunlight strikes, the area is technically shaded but there is a lot of indicrect light. The same thing happens if plants were to be shaded near a cemented walkway where sunlight can bounce off and hit the plants.

This type of bright shade scenario will not affect flower production much, at least not to the point where one might notice. Your buds will do fine in this case.

Dense shade is another story. I use this term to refer to areas where reflected light has no chance of reaching the shrubs. In areas where there is dense shade, you usually cannot successfully grow much of anything.

So see if these decriptions help you determine what kind of location you have and feel free to transplant them again (now is fine; do not worry that you just planted them) if you decide there is too much shade. Just maintain the soil moist as best as you can and mulch with 3-4" past the plants' drip line.

As for identifying a named variety only by the leaves, it can be done in some really rare cases but usually the leaves "look alike too much" so this is not enough. You need to see the blooming flowers and compare the blooms and record on what month do the blooms open. Take pictures and post the question again when several blooms open. A close up of one or two blooms plus a pictures of the leaves/shrub can help.

I am not really good a identifying camellias but others here can help. Ha! After seeing lots of camellias pictures, they all become a blur to me and I start saying to myself "did I not just see THAT ONE on the previous page?"

Check with friend to see what fertilizer program works for her already. I could give you the standard one recommended by the American Camellia Society but your friend's fertilizer and watering program may work just as well, assuming she lives nearby and not across the country.

Does this help you?
Luis

Here is a link that might be useful: Camellia Care by the A. C. S.