The following message pertains to a phoned in question to our Hortline here at UBC. The question in short was: The bark on my viburnum plicatum mariesii is badly peeling off and the leaves are browning around the edges. Some dead branches have already been removed. She lives on Hornby Island.
To whom it may concern, The peeling of the bark of your Viburnum plicatum and the browning of the leaves is most probably due to the drought, this a symptom of the stress it has experienced over the last few months. We suggest cutting back the dead branches and making sure that it is well watered every 10 days. You could place everygreen branches over it if we should get a cold snap soon to prevent more serious damage as it appears a little tender. UBC Hortline