Completely dumbfounded

I have an old Sambucas Sutherlands Gold (see photo) which I took cuttings of about 5 or 6 years ago.
The cuttings have or should I say! had grown to good sized shrubs. I prune them quite heavily every early Spring to get the good foliage (not bothered with the flowers). This Spring after I had pruned them and they had started to show new shoots we had quite a severe frost in about middle of April (not unusual). I saw that the new growth had been damaged, this has happened before with no ill effects and they normally just regrow. However this year 2 of the shrubs never produced new growth post the frost and are dead as Dodos and another started back into growth and is now dying back. The foliage is drooping and I reckon it's a goner too. 2 of the plants are in the same area but another is in a completely different part of the garden A fourth is totally fine. Does anybody have a clue what has affected them? I have other Sambucas (Black Lace) which are absolutely fine and the old Sutherland's Gold in the photo is also completely normal.....all very very strange and extremely annoying as the cuttings have got to a really good size and looked great last season.

 

Sorry, can't help, but your garden is beautiful. Your hostas are stunning!

 

Well, firstly your garden looks fantastic silu .
I had a similar problem with Sutherland Gold not growing in certain parts of the garden. Where my soil is richest it struggled. I also wondered whether alkalinity was a problem.....I used to use loads of mushroom compost and felt Sutherland Gold did not enjoy that. Frost was not a problem....mild winters here...so I would suggest physiological reasons, viz., something in the soil or about the situation it didnt like ...sorry Silu, bit of a mystery to me

 

in my case I discounted Wilt. It was more about where in the garden they were planted. Leaf scorch would be seen in late spring and summer and is very noticeable and identifiable. Ironically, it grew well for me around the pool where soil was damp however it was too vigorous for the spot. For me a case I could not solve