You’ll probably get an answer here but if in doubt call an arborist. I’m sure people will ask for more info: when did you notice first signs, all at once or gradual, any chance of herbicides.

im sorry for you.I lost a big branch from My V. T. mariessii , undoubtably because of last summers drought. I am very sad but i don’t think she’s a goner, just not so evenly layered.

I’ll be following with interest.

Thanks Marie~ this is causing huge grief as I am potentially looking at a huge landscaping job if I can’t save these. So the first one that died.. I took photos and a branch to a landscaping company near me. They said it was dying of root rot. Which once I got home made sense. I had a badly clogged downspout and the shrub was drowning. I pruned it best I could and it really tried to live. These others are definitely not drowning. They were absolutely huge so last year I pruned them heavily. With the help of a gardener friend who seemed quite confident. They came back this spring lovely.. until the past couple weeks. We did get heavy rain a few weeks back but I just can’t imagine that’s what’s causing this. I will reach out for help. It’s brutal around here to get any landscaping help. They are all booked through the summer. Thank you for your reply!

Viburnums are highly prone to verticillium wilt and that could be causing the wilting and dieback. VW is a soil borne pathogen that is pretty much omnipresent in any soils and also very opportunistic. It can remain dormant for decades and only spring to life and start invading plant tissue when the plant is damaged or exposed to stress.

Diagnosing VW is not in the remit of landscapers or arborists necessarily - they rarely have that skill set - but rather plant pathologists. You could take samples to your local extension service office for a proper diagnosis but if VW, there is no cure and it is advised not to plant a susceptible species in the same area.

talk to your local county extension office.. and find out if the wilt is a problem in your area ... and then discuss what gal said about talking to the same peeps ...

and are you positive there was no frost or freeze event since it leafed out ...

you should really try not to cut stuff off your plants.. until you ID the problem ... if it was a frost event.. you cut off a lot of viable leaves ... and if its the VW.. then you spread it around ...

this is an example of planting a monoculture .... if one gets a problem.. they all will.. so if you replant in the future.. try different plants .. to avoid such in the future. ..

ken

and try to find something a little more in scale with window height.. so you dont have to keep your shrubs whacked down ... something with less future potential ..

frankly.. this is an opportunity to plant a new diverse planting.. while reducing the job of shearing them so often... trying to find an upside here...

ken

VW is a problem everywhere!! It is present in most soils and affects over 300 species of plants, many of which are very common to gardens and can also include vegetables, berries and annuals.

btw, it is entirely possible to have a plant susceptible to and affected by VW while its next door neighbor - equally as susceptible - is completely unaffected. So you can disregard the monoculture aspect unless the damaging or stressing has been uniform to all.

Thanks Ken~ yes.. actually we had a May freezing rain storm. I can’t believe that didn’t cross my mind. I will put down the shearer’s for sure. These are definitely too big. Planted 25 years ago when the house was built. I may start getting landscaper quotes to redo in the fall when their schedules loosen up. I would have no idea what to plant. This is just not in my wheel house. And I can’t imagine how difficult pulling up these gigantic shrubs would be.

Although I have 2 huge lilacs on each side that weren’t affected at all.. so odd. I need a redo but it’s going to be awfully pricey!

I stand corrected about specialist. Crossed my mind to recommend pathology at extension service but brain shorted out before changing my answer.

what kind of viburnums are they?

Ken, in principle you are correct but for heavens sake give the woman a chance to mourn! After 25 years one might miss an alianthus.

A buckthorn, never.

Haha! I’m not mourning the loss of plants. It’s the loss of future money! :)

If memory serves.. and I can’t believe I even remember.. they are viburnum Carlesi.

Most of my viburnums this year have a curling-leaf ailment -- not sure what it is. I don't think it's fatal tho. My viburnums seem to be targets of all kinds of ailments & pests. My dogwoods too.

Good to know!!

As bengz6westmd wisely noted, there can be itinerant insects capable of causing curling, and that is ephemeral. The wet feet/saturation is another matter, which - if you've corrected it - shouldn't be a problem moving forward. Odd weather events can cause leaf disfiguration, as can other pathogens.

I would let your plants keep growing, but do the diagnostics as mentioned in this thread. If you've already disposed of the dead plant's parts, it's too late to know about that one. If not, take as much of the dead plant as you can transport and let the plant path folks select what parts they want to test. With your remaining plants, find a spot that is not so obvious but has affected foliage etc., and take a decent sized chunk so that (again) the extension specialists have plenty to work with. You could also take smaller lengths of branches including terminals with curled leaves, so that if insect activity information is present, they'll have that too.

IF everything goes off the rails, and your viburnums succumb to life's travails, you could simply cut them off at ground level and save a lot of cash. Plant in between the stumps with any new plantings and let the old below ground parts rot in place.

“Plant in between the stumps with any new plantings and let the old below ground parts rot in place.”

Would you recommend Viburnums as replacements?

I bet at least one - if not several - of the 125 taxa growing here at the Valley could be suitable. But - with knowing squat about the OP's soils and landscape interests, I wouldn't hazard a recommendation that precise. Moreover, until some testing is done to rule in or out what any pathogens may have played a role, if would be a mistake to make such a recommendation.

I do note that vigorous new sprouts on my cranberry viburnums are NOT leaf-curled like the overwintered bud-leaves are. Those vibs do put out nice flowers - pic from last year.

Nice picture of the Cranberrybush! Last summer I planted a Red Wing and Wentworth American Cranberrybush. We'll see how these two do in dry upland conditions, but if some killjoy comes along and tells me they won't cross pollinate, I will be so put out. ;)

Don't know about x pollination but my cranberry bush got decimated, defoliated and eaten alive....viburnum beatles? Tossed it. The ones all over town look beautiful.

Go figga.