Disease / fungus on Ceanothus

I've only just seen this question, but I know you asked it ages ago now. If you haven't dug them up and thrown them out yet, try spraying them with a fungicidal treatment, preferably a systemic one. These are for conditions like mildew, rust, etc., and you can buy ready mixed or, better, use one that needs mixing in a spray of your own.

Thanks for your reply.

A few weeks ago I did spray the shrub (one of them died completely) with a systemic insecticide after the garden centre suggested it might be "scale". I dissected some of the "fungus" and it contained tiny round brown creatures. It's had a second spraying. It seems to have improved slightly as it's sprouting new leaves but the branches are very brittle and break off easily. I'm not sure whether I should prune it a bit or wait till it hopefully recovers. I have wiped most of the fungusy coating off the branches.

It's future seems uncertain!