The black plastic and landscape fabric are setting off alarm bells for me, but we really need pictures. Fall was absolutely the BEST time to plant, so don't sweat that part, but, please, pictures!

I can say, without reservation, that your "man at the nursery" is a complete idiot and needs to be in some other business (maybe he could try a position as a plastics salesman or as a peagravel loader). Putting the plastic and landscape fabric down was a horrible idea. Adding the mushroom compost goes completely against all the scientific studies regarding soil amendment for woody plants. The pea gravel actually impedes drainage, by causing a perched water table. Did I mention the guy was an idiot?

Have you been checking soil moisture levels (at least a few inches down into your soil)? Pictures / more detail might help provide information on potential other problems.

Here is a link to a pretty good guide for planting trees and shrubs:

Here is a link that might be useful: Planting a Tree or Shrub

BTW, I would visit the nursery and demand free replacements. I'm not usually all that big on nursery guarantees (because it's often the fault of the buyer, not the seller, when plants die), but this case is an exception! The advice you got was so bad that, IMO, it makes the nursery liable for the plant's failure.

The Myth of Soil Amendments, Part I by Linda Chalker-Scott

The Myth of Soil Amendments, Part III by Linda Chalker-Scott

The Myth of Soil Amendments by Sustainable Horticulture

The Myth of Landscape Fabric

article from Mike's Backyard Nursery, with pictures

Garden Myth: Gravel in Pots and Containers (easy to understand explanation that can be extrapolated to this case)

What Brandon said - that guy at the nursery needs a different job.

There was so much bad advice in the directions you said you received in your post, I actually checked to see if you were new to the forums and playing with us. That doesn't seem to be so.

I agree with the others, you are due replacement plants, and that's coming from someone who has never once acted on a plant guarantee from a nursery. I could always find reason for a failure in unusual weather, my placement (admittedly some of the things that appeal to me are not appropriate for my particular site) or zone pushing, me wanting something that would thrive with more summer heat, less winter wet than I can provide. None of those are true in your case.

MORZ8, I can assure you that I am not playing with you'll. This is exactly how he told me to plant my shrubs. He seemed so knowledgeable. But, my husband told me not to listen to him about putting down the black plastic, I told him I was doing it exactly like I was told to do it. Now I see that was a bad decision. Now I understand why he has gotten some bad reviews from some of his other customers when they said their plants died, and he would not reimburse them. I am glad I didn't put the pea gravel 4" deep like he told me to do. I don't have gravel in the bottoms of all the holes, I ran out, and didn't want to buy more, the plant that showed signs of dying first, didn't have any gravel in the bottom of the hole. Is their anything you can suggest for me to do to salvage the rest of my shrubs? I paid him 18.00 apiece for them. Maybe that black plastic is to suffocating for the ground??? He was trying to solve my problems with the bermuda grass by telling me what to put down. I appreciate any and all info you'll can give me. By the way, can someone tell me how to send a picture, I don't know how to do it.

I am not sure what you mean by the term "sandland." Do you have sandy soil, or is your native soil pure sand? It could be that your shrubs are getting dehydrated. There are plants and shrubs that are adapted to growing in sandy soils.

By the way, can someone tell me how to send a picture, I don't know how to do it.

There is an area above the reply box that says this:

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Use the browse button to find the picture on your computer and attach it.

Thank you Brandon for the links to read those articles. I read some of them Sunday nite. The article about the black plastic is very disturbing. I guess I will try to take up as much as I can this fall, when the weather cools off some. Its going to be kind of hard to do, since we stacked landscape timbers, and then nailed through them. Eric, by sandland, I mean the sand is plain sand, like dead sand, you really have to amend the soil good, to get anything to grow. I guess that is why the nurseryman said I needed to amend the soil, If I had not had so much bermuda grass where I wanted to plant the shrubs, I wouldn't have used the 10 mil black plastic. but the landscape is contractor grade, supposed to last 20 yrs., and, it could be that I didn't water them long enough, either. I will attempt to post a picture, might take me awhile. Thanks again for all the suggestions.