Have you been away could this be drought? I think I would snip away all the brown leaves and stand these in deep water for some days and then keep them well watered and see if you get new growth?

Hi Dcr thank you for your reply, no we have not been away, I think the reason why the shrubs are like that is because they are next to a wall and when it rains the rain does not water the shrubs because of a over hang above the front door and they was forgotten about, I have been feeding the with miracle grow plant revive I will now stand them in water and trim all the brown leaves off,would you just cut the leaves off or go right back to the main stem.cheers

I have to say that I dont think this tight growth would let rain water penetrate I think it would just run off? this happens sometimes in pots. My hanging baskets get so full of plant that the water runs off and I have to water even when it rains. So try soaking and then water around the roots when dry. Some one else may say different, but I do not think it has been got at by animal spray or weed killer etc so fingers crossed.

Hi you are probably right about the rain water running off the plant with it being close and tight thank you for that

Lets hope it works for you

Hi,

I always water my pots and planters frequently in the rain as the rain does not reach them properly.

Hi thank you all for your comments cheers

Agree with all, you need to keep them watered even if its raining. Cut back to live wood - you may find they end up a funny shape though, till they start growing again.

Is it worth trying to save? I find they do take a lot of time to recover. Consider cutting your losses and not the shrub and buy a new one. I suspect, as everyone else, that it was too dry.

Hi Thank you all for your replies kind regards