In article , Mercy Mercy.1teu80@garden
banter.co.uk writes

I noticed that the compost was completely dry - is this the reason why
they look so ill?

Yes, almost certainly.

And if so, now that I'm back to resume watering, will
they revive themselves or is extra help needed?

Possibly. Keep them out of the sun, possibly spray the leaves with water
as well as watering the soil. Stand the pot in a deep bowl of water for
a couple of hours to make sure the root ball is soaked through.

They will either recover or go brown and crispy.

Even if the leaves go brown and crispy, you may still get some new
shoots appearing, in which case they will have had a massive set back
but will be OK next year.

Meanwhile, treat it as a learning experience - you do need to make
arrangements for watering when you go away, and new compost dries out
very quickly, so do any repotting when you're around to look after the
plants.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"