Cherry tree

[HMW]

I’ve got a customer with a cherry tree that was planted about 10 years ago - she said it flowered really early and had now started to die back. The top of the tree still has green on but the lower branches have dead leaves with small suckers growing back. Any ideas ? 

[Dan Maynard]

Depending where you are in the country, I would guess the late frosts burned the buds.

 

Cross fingers and leave it be, cherry seem to sometimes just die so could go either way.  Taking off deadwood won't make any difference to the tree but may improve the appearance.

[William Clifford]

I'm also coming across quite a few Cherries looking like this. One was vigorous last year when we secateured new growth from the top (it had been heavily reduced years previous). I had a look a couple of weeks ago and it was dead and dry down into 5" timber with the exception of 2 sprigs. Others had signs of life, sometimes dead dry tips for 8 inches, but leaf further down the the twigs. Another had very few leaves, but life in all the tips when scratched and is now starting to come back - and looking like the one in HMW's photo.

 

Dan is suggesting late frost, another local tree surgeon is suggesting drought. On all of the trees there have been a few leaves hanging as if it has Blossom Wilt so was wondering if Monilinia was to blame? The only thing that makes me think not is no gummy bits on the cherry shoots at all, and only a relatively small number of dead hanging leaves? There is a difference this year between trees which seem to have been struggling due to the climate over the past couple of years becoming sparse, and the 6 or so I've looked at since spring which were healthy last year and now look more like HMW's. Any of the above 3 possible diagnosis are plausible in my mind. I'm in the East Midlands if that helps at all.

[William Clifford]

I'm being asked to prune quite a few Cherries this time of year. I'm avoiding pruning any which are struggling (no chance of pruning out infection and leaving anything decent on the one's I've looked at if it is Monilinia), but there's a lot of very healthy looking Cherries and I'm concerned about putting pruning wounds in and letting infection in. I guess it depends on what the problem is?

[Gordon S]

1 hour ago, William Clifford said:

I'm being asked to prune quite a few Cherries this time of year. I'm avoiding pruning any which are struggling (no chance of pruning out infection and leaving anything decent on the one's I've looked at if it is Monilinia), but there's a lot of very healthy looking Cherries and I'm concerned about putting pruning wounds in and letting infection in. I guess it depends on what the problem is?

Unless it is a very small prune I would have thought it is still too early, I'm ready to be corrected but another month or two at least.

I've been asked to look after a sicklie cherry, it looks like it was savagely reduced last year and suffered from drought, greenfly and white fly. It is covered in last years suckers and water sprouts.

So I started by watering, fertilising and mulching the base but wasn't sure if it is better to remove epicormic growth now to stop the tree wasting energy on it but encouraging further infection. Or leave them until later in the season when the risk to open wounds is less?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

thanks

 

[William Clifford]

There is a lot more white fly around this year than previous years. Around this way at least.

 

I've always understood June / July / August to be the right time for pruning Cherries. When I read up on it there was some conflicting trains of thought - some saying winter also, but these 3 months seemed to be the right time.

 

I've just done a quick google search and even RHS has slightly differing recommendations. Picture attached. 

 

If the tree is very sickly I'd probably be leaving the epicormic growth on until I was confident the tree's gained some strength at least. The tree isn't wasting energy on it, rather putting it out as its best way to quickly feed itself? A response to being stressed?

[William Clifford]

Picture not attached..

 

Now picture attached, hopefully.