Beginner Gardening: what smoked my smokebush?, 0 by cheerpeople

cheerpeople wrote:
The plant has continued to look even worse than that pic. The 'healthy section' is looking bad and the bad section is turning brown.

I don't want to dig around and do damage to the roots of this already stressed plant. I don't know how I'd cure a root damage situation anyway. I have no ability to end problems with moles and voles. I've tried for years. Kitty has caught a few voles. That being said I don't see anything obviously dug up or tunneled near the plant.

No lawnmowers of weed wackers near this plant. It is in the center of a garden.

Pastime- that's VERY good to know. Did yours do it before frost like this? Did the cut back plant come back shorter or fuller or any change?