I look after a garden which has a couple of these shrubs. A couple of years ago, one of them, a very mature shrub,died off, it appeared, and I removed it as there were a couple of young 'canes', I believe they are called, coming from the base. These are now groweing beautifully where the mother plant once was.
A year ago, I removed a new cane from the other mature shrub and transplanted it. It is coming on brilliantly in it's new location.
This year, the mature host shrub from which I took the aforementioned new cane, was starting to bud up around a month or 6 weeks ago ( a little later than usual, I thought), but, the other day I was visiting and tending to the garden and it is looking like it's dying. No buds, or brown dead small ones, looking completely bare while the others are looking fit, green and strong, just about to come in to flower.

I tend to another garden which also has a young maresi in it, which I planted from an off-shoot cane about three years ago. It is looking fine like the others mentioned above.

Does anyone have any ideas what could have happened here? As I said earlier, another mature one died a couple of years back, up until then, they had both looked magnificent and fine specimens.I am told by the residents that the garden was planted around 26/27 years ago. Could there be a life span issue with these species? There are a couple of other viburnum species, same age (acerfolia?) that look a little on the 'tired' side this year too, but are in leaf and I think that they are ok, i,e. not dead! There are several 'tinus' varieties also which are perfectly fine.

Anyone throw any light on this please?

Thanks

Terry Deans