My girlfriend insisted that I buy these two Golden Euonymus bushes several years ago, but I never could find somewhere to put them! So they stayed in the nursery pots for 2, maybe 3 years.

This last winter had some really cold nights (as low as 17F), and I thought both had died. But I finally had a place to put them, so I planted them anyway.

First up is this one:

You can see that it's coming back, so all is good. Should I go ahead and cut away the (apparent) dead wood, or is this one of those things that might come back on hard wood next year?

Second up is this one:

I know people say that they're indestructible, but it's July and I see no green. The limbs are flexible, though, and don't snap when I bend them a little. Is it safe to assume that I've done the impossible and killed it?

Thoughts on cutting away all of the (apparent) dead limbs, but leaving the roots and just seeing what happens next year?