I planted my weeping cherry 2 years ago- bought it at a local reputable nursery. Last year, it had gorgeous blooms and seemed to be doing fine. I watered it as I would the rest of my garden= it is never hot here by the coast but I do pay attention to watering and I don't overwater.. This fall, the tree lost all of it's leaves. Then it developed little buds but stopped doing anything at all. Still no sign of life on the weeping branches and the little buds are dry and fall off if I touch them. I have lightly scratched the trunk and do not see any sign of green... The only sign of life is at the very base of the tree- there are a few shoots coming out which are green when scratched and these shoots are beginning to leaf. I tried fertilizing it a couple of weeks ago in hopes that I could revive it, but it does not seem to be responding. I cut off a couple of small branches higher up the trunk and there is no green there at all..... I went to the nursery where I bought this and they assured me that the weeping cherries are blooming late this year. Should I just wait a couple of months more or should I cut everything above the new growth off and let this eventually become a non-weeper instead? Any suggestions would be hugely appreciated! Thank you!
Dried out buds that drop off are dead. If the whole top has these and not just some branches here and there then presumably the whole top is dead or nearly so. Cherry trees in general are problem prone. A given specimen may do fine for years or it may be plagued with difficulty, even fail completely - as yours may have. The Cooperative Extension Service up here has offered an entire color illustrated booklet called "Why Cherry Trees Die" for those struggling with unhappy orchard cherries. If you browse some of the photos on this site of Japanese cherries flowering in Vancouver you may see that some of the individuals shown exhibit signs of disease problems, some rather severe. This is typical for these trees. When you plant one it's the luck of the draw, although some aggressive conditions are regionally prevalent making the trees more of a gamble in some places than others. Also it is important to always plant these in full sun and well-drained soil, at least in damp coastal climates.
Thanks so much, Ron, for your reply. So if you were me, would you remove the whole tree or cut it off just above the new growth at the base and see what happens?
Probably grafted on a sweet cherry (Prunus avium) (or other rootstock) trunk or roots which is what is now sprouting. No point in cutting back to that is it won't be your weeping Japanese cherry. If unsure leave the sprouts to develop and make it clear what they are. You may have to wait a few years to be able to tell, stout and stiffly upright branches with white flowers would be typical of sweet cherry.
