Viburnum beetle... is this salvageable?

[Imicola]

It seems I'm not very good at early identification of pests! This viburnum had a pretty bad case of beetles... the bottom part seems dead, and even new growth at the top has holes in. And it stinks... should I just remove it, or could I prune it down to the ground and try again?

Anyone? It stinks to high heaven today due to the rain. Grim!

I think once it starts to smell awful it's a lost cause. We took ours out completely and grew something else.

Viburnum stinks anyway.
My neighbour has one and the smell is horrible walking past it.
It's been like that for years and looks ok. Doesn't appear to have any issues.

Viburnum stinks anyway.

Only to some people (apparently). Whether or not it smells bad to you, is a genetic thing.

I think that bush is a gonner. Sorry, OP. That said, what is lost by pruning it back hard and seeing how it does for the rest of the season? It's better to plant something new in autumn, anyway. So you may as well try it and see.

Ok, thanks for the advice. I didn't realise ther plant itself smells bad to some people. I think I'll get rid... I've been considering doing something new in that corner for a while so removing this will give me the kick start!

I checked it out and it doesn't appear to be that genetic thing like with coriander, where some people think it tastes like soap.
Viburnum tinus leaves, when they break down give off butyric acid which is a noxious chemical.

We had this and I kept under control for a bit using rose clear but it was getting very expensive and not really curing the problem so I replaced with a rather lovely salix. I also made the decision that as housing estates tend to have lots of similar hedges that when one gets attacked they all do so it’s better to go for something very different or a good mix of shrubs so you don’t lose the lot. We also lost a hedge to box moth.

@Billybagpuss I am losing a box hedge to box moth
Fec*ers

It’s desecrated the whole estate with the exception of one guy who works for the government in a secret department, what does he know that we don’t 😵‍💫