Hello We have a large cherry tree with three large branch segments. last year it was hit by lightning and one huge branch fell down, we cut it off. Shortly after this weird white stuff grew on the trunk. it looks layered and flaky. The tree looks ok, except some branches seemed to die, but otherwise nothing seemed to change. Today I had a landscaper come in for some yard work and he told me that the tree is diseased. I would like to know if it is diseased, will it die of this white stuff? will the tree be affected? should i have it removed? I dont know what type of cherry tree it is, it blooms spring/early summer , the blooms are light pink and white, and fruits dark small to medium cherries, would like to know what type it is also and if the cherries are edible. Thank you for any help, I would like to know what to do with the tree before any yard work start. :)
Fungus is usually an indication of a sick tree. It don't think it's necessarily the white stuff that kills it (at the start) so much as the white stuff is an indicator that it's already in bad shape and the fungus is taking advantage of that. I see there have been some postings on this. Have a look at: Kwanza Cherry Fungus and Problem with Bing Cherry Tree There are a LOT of cherry cultivars - there would be no way to know what kind it is without photos of the blossoms or fruits and leaves and seeing the tree shape, and even then, it might be difficult if it's a fruit tree. Cherries grown for fruit generally have clusters of small 5-petalled white blossoms; if yours has pink blossoms, it sounds like it would be an ornamental and the fruits would not be tasty (but would not be poisonous).
Thank you for your reply. Is there anything we can do to save it? You said its in bad shape, does that mean it wont survive for too long? Also, we probably need to trim a large branch that is hitting the neighbors house. any safe way to trim? My daughter loves the tree and calls it my cherry tree, so I would like to try to keep it.
If you do chop the tree why not save a good chunk of it and make it into something for your daughter? Margaret
