Viburnum tinus dieback

if i were you Spritz i would cut all dead and damaged bits out, it could just be that this branch has got damaged, proberly nothing to worry about. viburnum can be pruned qute hard and comes back better for it! - i'm always chopping bits off my mums one for flower arrangments and it seems to like it! pruning should be done after flowering, according to my book, but they do have such a long flowering period. i aways cut it when in flower or sometimes in bud - as this is best for my arrangements, and it does'nt seem to mind at all. it just produces more, if anything cutting now will proberly prolong flowering, so go for it, be brave!

Yes cut it out and dispose of it straight away.

There are two diseases that can affect Viburnum called Phytophthora hedraiandra or ramorum. It's a basal stem canker (look for cankers about 10cm up the stem from the base) causing defoliation and dieback
It's been spreading across Europe for a couple of years now. It gets into areas of damage on the plant and destroys it. Cut off dead wood as low to the ground as possible then burn the offcuts -DO NOT COMPOST
Keep an eye on the rest of the plant for similar things happening.
Good luck

Sounds scary! I shall look carefully as I wield my trusty pruning saw... Thanks to you all for the advice - I thought I probably should cut it off! It's going to leave a horrible gap, unfortunately.

One other point, after you have used any pruning tools where you are possibly cutting out diseased material, dip your blade into bleach to sterilise before going on to another shrub. (A 10 percent solution is strong enough.)

Well, I have cut off all dead bits and also unhealthy-looking bits, too, and sterilised my secateurs and pruning saw. I burnt the cut off bits as suggested. I couldn't find any damage on the branches, or cankers or anything that looked any different from the other branches, so it's still a mystery. I crawled right underneath it to look! Henry though it was a great game...I have pulled the front healthy branches as far back as I dare, to hide the ugly gap (a bit) and I'll be watching out for any more problems. Thanks everybody, and keep your fingers crossed!

Hi Spritzhenry. Can you tell me how your viburnum fared after cutting out the dead bits? My 17 year old viburnum is experiencing the same. I know it's been a decade since you posted. Hopefully, you'll have good news! :D

Hi everyone. I realise this is an old post but has anyone got an answer? My viburnum Tinus hedge has several plants with dieback and I can see it spreading despite cutting out the affected branches, sterilising my pruning equipment between each cut and keeping the hedge fertilised and watered.