Hello, I have recently acquired a property in the Cache Creek area and have planted two cherry, two apple and one plum trees. Last year the cherry tree leaves shrivelled up in the spring and did not recover - this year no leaves came at all. This year I bought two new trees that looked very healthy with leaves and all, and as the weeks went by, they two have shrivelled up leaves and the trees look like they won't recover. Are they dead? Will they come back? I did not use pesticides, although I will now if the trees are not dead. Today I have bought to insecticides that are safe for fruit trees and will use them if there is any benefit. Should I cut the branches off and hope they regenerate? Also there is a Hawthorne tree in the garden area, does that need spraying as well - could it be the problem? Please help, I don't want to be throwing my money away, and I do want to eat cherries. The plum and apple trees look great.
Thanks for the response. Could this happen with very young trees 1-2 years old. Is there any cure or can the tree recover with some type of spraying.
If you are in USA try Cooperative Extension. You need to find out what, specifically is happening before you can formulate an effective response. If in BC maybe BC Ag offers similar services (testing and diagnosis).
Thanks very much for your response. I am in the BC southern interior. I am going to investigate some fungicides, as it seems all the information I am reading make spraying poisons par for the course. I was hoping to just go natural, so maybe I will just try other less time consuming fruit trees (this place is only my weekend getaway after all).
It won't do you much good to spray a dead tree. Usually when a newly planted trees die off its because they didn't root properly. If your new trees came healthy and looking good, a blight isn't going to just instantly set and kill them in a couple weeks. At least nothing I have ever dealt with. Did you pop the Cherry trees up and see if they did root? Think twice before spraying fungicides on your fruit trees, they may not need it and you may burn them if your unexperienced. It sounds if last years trees died off in the spring and never recovered. Possibly the summer before had some severe drought and heat. This years drought will surely effect next years buds and growth. Once a tree has fully produced its foliage, the present drought conditions may wilt the leaves and add a few holes, but next year may show the real damage. Water water water, trees can't get enough water these days. Thats my 2 cents,, Jim.
Thanks very much Jim, very helpful info. I live in Langley too, but my trees are at my cabin in the Cache Creek area where it is very dry. The new trees are definitely getting enough water. But last year's maybe not. Should I wait one more year and continue watering? Not sure how I would know if the tree roots had taken hold or not ....
With cherry trees, a blight can, in fact come in and kill them back/off quick. Another Extension publication that has been used in my region is (or was) entitled WHY CHERRY TREES DIE - an entire illustrated booklet just on this one subject.
Thank you very much, I'll look it up. I don't think the tree is dead, the trunk looks great, it's just a baby tree, so maybe if I start babying it, it will grow leaves one day.
I can't seem to open the Google page on the publication, Why Cherry Trees Die. I may have to order that book Ron. I would imagine there could be some pathogens which can immediately effect trees, I just have never come across any. I just do notice massive similarity of damage caused by drought. And most noticeably effected are Maple and Cherry trees. Although I can find similar damage on almost all plants. Buds breaking out and then dying off are one of the similarities. Massive holes in the leaves is another, and of course die back. Now all these are somewhat the same as a very common Bacterial Blight, but after several negative lab results, drought seems to be the main culprit. To check and see how your Cherry trees are rooting, could try just pulling on it and see if it has a good hold. Dig around it a bit? I really don't know what is best for your particular situation sorry. Other option to check for a pathogen you could drop off a sample at the red barns you see just east of the Sumas exit on the north side. They have an plant and animal sciences department at the back. Its $18 a sample, they take cheques. Good luck Jim.
A neighbour leaned out his window and told us our apartment building's little Kiku-shidare-zakura cherry, which we've only had two years, has blight and we should throw it out and buy a plum. If pruning is the death of cherries anyway, is he right and we should just get rid of it? If it's worth treating, do we have to go have a diseased bit analysed, or can we just trim and pull off all the diseased parts and treat it with a copper spray? I wonder if not-a-farmer was able to keep his trees. Is our neighbour right that a plum planted in the same spot wouldn't pick up the disease? I didn't see any photos on the disease photographs site that look like this, so I'm posting these. I think the reason for the planter box was to provide a bit more soil for the roots to hold on to, since our garden is over a garage and the soil depth is quite shallow. The box does not have a bottom. I don't think that's the soggy section of our garden, so I don't think it was for drainage.
