Hi.

After the cold winter I left any dead or dying garden shrubs till the warmer weather to see if they would recover of their own volition. Some have, but others haven't, so I'm wondering how best to tackle the sufferers or whether it's a wasted effort.

Conditions: slightly acid soil, northfacing garden in a valley in Cornwall, damp climate.

1. A hardy fuchsia: big, no leaves, flowers or signs of green anywhere yet, but there is white inside the twigs. My inclination is to leave it till maybe June. Anything else I should do?

2. A gangly willow-leaved hebe: the leaves are shrivelling from the bottom of the plant up. How will it cope with a drastic prune and feed?

3. A hydrangea: has never flowered in ten years (hydrangeas do well in our area), but in previous years it produced leaves. This year very little except a few tiny green shoots at the base. It sits in a dappled shady shrub border under a large cherry tree. Drastic prune and feed?

4. Euphorbia mellifera: up to last year it used to be a very large, healthy specimen in a giant pot outside the front door (up against the front wall, with full sun). I forgot to wrap it in bubblewrap this winter so I think the frost killed it - there are a few brown shoots, no greenery showing. Would it be OK to plant another one in the same soil or is it possible there's life in the old one still?

Sorry this is so long! Any tips much appreciated.