Viburnums are by no means 'pest free' but they do tend to be less bothered by many pest and diseases problems than many other shrubs. One insect pest that can cause a big problem is viburnum leaf beetle, but it will rarely kill a viburnum and it is very well known. A heavy or severe infestation can cause defoliation and that can certainly weaken the plant but it will seldom cause the plant to die, especially if you are on alert for problems and treat or remove any beetles when you see them present. And a good number of viburnum species are resistant to some degree.

I would be highly disinclined to accept the advice or opinion of a HD employee as gospel. They are rarely very plant savvy :-)

I'm going to recommend two books. Others may have their own preferred authors, but the point is this...find good sources of info and use them.

Manyal of woody landscape plants, dirr. Sure to generate polarized opinions, but all in all, one of the better one volume woody plant books.

Ortho problem solver. I'd get the master one, if you can. There is also a home problem solver, and if you can't find the big one at a price you want to pay (understandable), it's a slightly passable substitute.

Anyone who hears you planted viburnum and has an opinion as to suitability/adaptability...without asking which viburnum...yeah, there's a few (ahem) and the afflictions of one species are not the afflictions of all.

Viburnums are workhorses of the landscape. They serve multiple functions and are widely used. There are certain problems...powdery mildew on this one, leaf miner on that one, borer on others. Possible problems? Yeah. Debilitating? Not generally. Do people have their own opinions? Always, and it's generally worth what you pay.

The viburnum leaf beetle IS a true pest but there are ways to deal with the problem. First and foremost, there are highly resistant species of Viburnum that are worthy of planting. Please check out THIS fact sheet from Cornell for further information.

It is still possible to control these pests by practicing some simple integrated pest management chores at the right time of year. For example, inspecting your plant in the fall for twigs in which the eggs have been laid, snipping away any that you find and disposing of them will help enormously.

Another FACT SHEET from Cornell explains other excellent IPM techniques that you can employ to keep your Viburnum pest free without a lot of chemicals. The Viburnum leaf beetle IS manageable.

Ilmt, way back when you first posted about this shrub screen I seem to recall that several people recommended that you plant a mix of species. However, you decided to buy a couple of dozen shrubs of the same type thus opening up the risk of a problem possibly affecting all of them. However, it may never happen, or if it does it may not be severe and you'll be able to manage it. Yet again I find myself encouraging you to relax.

And, like GG, I don't recommend taking advice from big box store staff.

yeah.. its a hardware store ... not a nursery ...

ken

He also said he sprayed 4 times for this insect and it still killed all his "cranberry" viburnums.

This is the same guy who when I was in there last weekend buying a couple Lilacs, I heard a female voice say to him "now we water these every day". She (the manager?) was pointing to the outside cart of Lilacs I was looking at. When she said it the guy immediately smirked, and I still laugh about it, because he sounds like Rocky Balboa when he talks. He said "Why do we have to water them? They're outside!!! It rains outside!!!!!" I turned around to see who this guy was and the manager was a somewhat older woman and she looked completely unphased by him, and said "do it anyway" and she walked away.

I'm off to take a look at the fact sheets offered, and try to find Ortho Problem solver. I want to know what these insects look like, in case they come into my yard.

They look like this:

garden web photos · More Info

Well, that's enough. I'm over and out, as it relates to Viburnums.

We're giving our Viburnums to our next door neighbor. They are thrilled. They want to screen our the Christmas tree neighbor too. We're buying a combo of forsythia and Lilac shrubs, shrubs that we know we can grow effortlessly, and aren't either bothered by bugs or voles. They will give us a solid, great screen. We should have done this all along. I'm off to go to Home Depot to get them.

Why on earth are you giving up on them after all that hassle and expense getting them and planting them? They haven't even got any problems yet! Just chill and stop panicking over imaginary troubles. And why get more forsythia and lilacs? They really are run of the mill and there are hundreds of more interesting choices.

I see your point, and it's well taken. At least the holes are ready for them. It wont take any time to replant. This wasnt a panick situation. It was more like F this! We dont want to have to deal with that kind of BS. No thanks. And it's better that we decided now than down the road. I only wish i had done more research and found out about this most insidious beetle. I read a lot of threads on here and people are miserable having to deal with this bug.

We don't want to use insecticides in our yard, much less on thirty 20ft tall shrubs. The idea of it is absurd. Our neighbor will be using them on the other side of their property, not on our side. As for our shrub choices, thats what everyone around here grows. I know they aren't exciting, but they seem to love our yard, and that's enough for me.

What kind of Viburnum did you order? I have the beetles in my area, so I have gotten rid do one kind that had issues, but I still grow 3 other kinds just fine.

You know there are over 100 species of viburnum, and myriad hybrids? Some are practically immune to problems, some aren't.

Drats...gotta get me an orange apron...

" I read a lot of threads on here..."

Do the reading before the planting.

NHBabs, I ordered 4 Blackhaw and 25 Nannyberry shrubs.

The Cornell fact sheet says that neither (V. prunifolium and V. lentago) are too susceptible to the Viburnum beetle; of the 4 categories they give, these are in the category the is one down from the most susceptible. I don't grow either of these, but others I grow in the same category aren't much bothered by them.

"yeah.. its a hardware store ... not a nursery ."

Yes, and it really just sounds like he is trying to sell you other plants from home depot out of fear. This kind of advertising/propaganda is often used, one good example being Hillary Clinton and other political campaign ads. I really think you're worrying over nothing. I'm pretty confident that I, and the majority of GW regulars (no offense meant to you or anyone else), know more than some guy from home depot.