ceanothus problem

Have you been watering it deply and regularly? Ceanothus are drought tolerant, but not for their first year.

thanks tugbrethil yes it has been getting quite a lot of water since it was planted and just been to check and ground is still pretty wet perhaps i should take it back to my garden centre where it was purchased

It could be the best thing, though in my experience as a nurseryman, "bad plants" are usually a rare thing. Be sure to get and follow full planting instructions from the nursery professional. Common mistakes:
Forgetting to water it in the bucket after you get it home.
Being too rough getting it out of the bucket, so the root ball cracks.
Planting too deep--sometimes problems show immediately, sometimes they wait for years.
Too much, or incompletely mixed soil conditioners--they sometimes turn into bad compost heaps underground, releasing toxic gasses.