It's not always necessary to trim or loosen the roots of pot grown shrubs but if the roots are entwined and looping around the sides of the root ball, then it's best to cut or gently loosen them to allow them to expand outside the shape they've taken. It's more likely that you've got some other problem that caused the quick demise of the plants. Lack of water or over watering are the two most common causes of rapid plant death. Newly planted material requires about 1" of water a week and it must soak down to the root zone to be effective. Too much water can kill just as quickly as too little. It prevents air circulation from the roots which essentially drowns the plant. So if the plants were healthy when you put them out, look to the soil moisture content first. Did you dig large holes for them or just the size of the root ball? What's your native soil like? Sandy, hard packed clay, rocky, decent loam? Did you amend the soil with anything or add any fertilizer? Since some of your plants are already stressed, I wouldn't dig them up unless you remember them being badly root bound. Where did you buy them? A "big-box" hardware store or a reputable nursery? Wherever you got them, check to see if they have a warranty on their plants. Some places will replace the plants if they die within a year. Some won't. If you think the water situation was ok, take samples of the stressed plants to your local cooperative extension office to see if they can diagnose the problems. If there's some disease or insect infestation, they will probably be able to help you and their services are free. Lastly, did you have that nice mild winter and then a nasty cold snap? That can stress the plants and kill new growth that hasn't had time to harden off. Are the branches totally dead or is there still some green if you scratch off a little bark? If there's still a green layer under the bark, they probably will survive. Good luck with your landscape problems. I know how frustrating it can be to have beautiful plantings that die. Been there and done that myself.

Autumn Fern is pretty tough and can look a bit tattered by the end of the season. Most ferns tend to do better with afternoon shade. Why not move it to a shady location?

I've decided if I'm going to do this right I am going to plunk down at least $1300 for either a U-Line or a Marvel. It has to be done. My contractor wants to have it here first because I think he wants to be sure that the fillers fit correctly. Thanks for the link Pigeonenglish. When I went shopping this weekend the salesman at Beemis told me that they once knew of a hospital that installed a couple hundred "dorm room" fridges underneath cabinets and they all broke down within weeks. Someone should have told them! I'm so grateful he told me that so that I wouldn't find a cheap one to throw in.

I have thought about going to a shelter to adopt a dog. They are so full from people being foreclosed on and abandoning their pets. DH doesn't want to do that right now though. He wants us to focus on what we started and that is raising the guide dog puppies for the guide dog school. There is a woman in our group who is in her 70's and has raised 27 dogs for the school. She told me last week that the right one will come along for us to keep and we'll be sure when it does. Nick's sister was booted out because of hips too and she was only half his size (about 40 lbs.). That size dog would be much better for me because I have a bad back. She was too high strung for us though. I cried all night again last night but doing much better today. DH was going to call them this morning to see if he was still at the school being neutered or if he had already been placed at their hosue. If he wasn't at their house yet he was going to tell them we changed our minds. But we went for a long walk and talked and talked and decided to stick with our decision.So we will wait until Sept or Oct. and get another puppy to raise and love. And we will be hopeful that he will be happy there and be a good therapy dog for her. I hope she will realize what a gift he truly is.