Lime takes a while top react but hydrated is the fastest acting. Give it time. Just make certin you water.

A photo would help us to know if they might recover. Boxwood grows so slowly, if you've lost a significant amount of foliage it could be some time before it's replaced. Without seeing them, I can only guess but I suspect your boxwoods were either suffering from transplant shock or fertilizer burn. I don't think you could have altered the soil ph enough with 'food' for acid loving plants to cause that much damage that quickly.

Boxwood are fairly adaptable to soil ph anyway, and often thrive in soil on the acidic side - I'm not sure where you would have read they prefer alkaline.

If you have soil with average fertility, your shrubs may not require fertilizer, or at least may not require it for several seasons.