never 'feed' a stressed plant ... ever ..

now.. tell us about summer ... anything like my 6 weeks over 100 ... severe early frost/freezes in may .. and 12 weeks of drought????

when the brown 'shows' .. means nothing.. the injury had to be weeks.. if not months earlier ... what was your watering regimen ...

and also discuss with us.. how that lawn is kept pristine ... does the damage tend to favor the side on which the lawn is sprayed with chemicals.. per chance???

you said: As you can see, some shoots are tan/brown and others are still green.

==>> no i cant see such on this pic.. how about something a bit closer... recovery is in the buds.. even on a barren branch.. if those survive.. they should releaf next season .. if those are also damaged.. or dead.. well.. there is no predicting ... what you will end up with ...

also.. how were they planted.. did you do it.. were the plants severely rootbound coming from the pot ... what if anything did you do in that regard ...

finally.. is this south facing ???

more info please

as of right now.. there is nothing you can do.. until spring .. except wait ... to see how they react ...

ken

Judging from what I can see in these pictures, I must agree with Ken, looks like chemical damage from whatever is being sprayed on the lawn. I would think frost damage would have affected the plants in a more uniform way, and most of the damage appearsmto be on the lawn side.

It could be the boxwood fungus that is spreading on the East coast. Contact your local extension office, they would be very interested if it is this blight.

Frank