is your soil well-drained? they do not like wet feet. also, you may be planting them too deep. plant the root ball on undisturbed soil at the bottom of a hole twice the diameter of the root ball to prevent settling. the top of the root ball should be at or slightly above grade, not below, as they have many fine roots near the surface. mulch the planting area until the plant has established itself enough to provide shade for its root system. water well (soak) at least once a week during dry periods until the plant is well established, usually two years or so. they appreciate some shade from sun during the hottest part of the day. they are frequently planted in my area beneath tall pines where they receive bright, filtered light.

Your conditions are similar to mine, angelml. I place my camellias a little higher than the surrounding soil and where they will be protected from wind, where they get morning sun until 11am or so and I provide them with 3-4" of mulch year 'round. Even slow winds in my hot summers will be a problem so some protection helps.

On year 1, I also try to water them manually (3.8 liters per watering) as drip and other irrigation methods will not get the newly planted shrubs' roots moist as well as I can do watering by hand. I strongly suggest you also water by hand until their roots grow more (in about a year) and then you can let a sprinkler or drip system take over. In the summer, I increase watering amounts by 50%. In the fall, when temperatures come down below 29.4 degrees, I water less. During the winter, when the plant is semi-dormant, I water once a week or once every two weeks (depends on whether it rains and how much). It would be ideal to provide about 2.5cm (1" per week) of rain during the growing season. If Mother Nature does that for you then do not water that week.

You can also use the finger method to tell when to water. Every day, early in the morning, insert a finger into the soil to a depth of 10.15cm (4 inches) and see if it feel dry, moist or wet. If it feels dry or almost dry, then water the plant and make a note in a wall calendar indicating that you watered on that day. After 2-3 weeks, review the information on the wall calendar to determine about how often you were having to water the plant (every 3/4/5/etc days). You can then water the plant 10.15cm on that same frequency (every 3/4/5 days). On year 1, try to water by hand from the base outwards. On other years or if you have to go on vacation, use the sprinkler/drip irrigation.

If they die so soon after planting, I'd have to wonder if the shrubs are planted too deeply; I think it would take a while for a healthy shrub to perish due to water issues, unless the drainage is so poor that the plants drown.

Jeff and Luis have given good advice about planting, mulching, watering and protecting from wind. There are some good visual guides to planting online if you have any doubts about whether you're doing it right.

Good luck,

Virginia