Silverleaf.

[coppice cutter]

Is there any danger of silverleaf infection in either plum or cherry if I were to cut suckers at ground level at this time of year?

 

A few at the extremes of the root system I dig up and transplant, but you can't do that with any near the base of the tree as you'd be damaging the root system unduly, and it's much easier to identify them now before they leaf up.

 

They're damsons and all grown from suckers themselves BTW so not grafted and are generally very robust.

 

The cherries are sour cherries and again, all grown from a few suckers taken from a hedge on the farm.

[Guest Gimlet]

I doubt you'd have any problems just from removing suckers. But since we're nearly into spring you might as well wait til March, and if possible pick a cold dry spell. 

 

The real danger with silverleaf, if my understanding is correct - and I looked into this a couple of years ago when I had to lay a cerasifera nigra cherry plum hedge - is pruning in autumn and early winter, as the tree will have open wounds right through the depths of winter, especially hazardous if it's mild wet winter as these which are the worst conditions for silverleaf. 

 

But autumn pruning is precisely what I did, as I laid the hedge on October. However it didn't suffer at all, though sweet and fruit cherries are more prone than ornamentals, I believe.

 

Remove and burn all the cuttings immediately. Silverleaf tends to get established on dead wood and then infects living trees through wounds, so never leave cuttings and deadwood lying around near living trees. They're most susceptible for a week after cutting, therefore doing it during a cold dry spell gives them the best chance. And make sure the cuts are open to the air, not moldering under a layer of mulch or leaf litter. 

Edited February 19, 2023 by Gimlet

[Peasgood]

The easiest way to transmit silverleaf is by not disinfecting your euipment after using on an infected tree.

[coppice cutter]

On 19/02/2023 at 09:40, Gimlet said:

I doubt you'd have any problems just from removing suckers. But since we're nearly into spring you might as well wait til March, and if possible pick a cold dry spell.

Yeah, that would be the sensible thing but the weather is decent at the minute and I'm trying to get as much done as possible before lambing starts.

 

But probably best leaving it as late as possible no doubt.

 

Consider the rest of your post duly noted as well. 👍