My cherry tree looks dead

unarobertson

Hi My prunus burgundy cherry blossom tree which was planted about 6 years ago and had been looking very healthy has this summer developed shrivelled and burnt looking leaves.  I live in Glasgow and we have had an amazingly hot summer! Could my cherrie tree really have died due to the heat???! Please give me some advice. Many thanks 

fidgetbones

If it has had no water, yes it could have died.  It may just have had an early autumn and dropped its leaves. You will know next Spring if it fails to grow new leaves.

josusa47

A few years ago, I moved, in June, to a house which has a dead flowering cherry.  The neighbours said it was fine up to and including the previous summer, when it leafed and flowered as usual, and dropped its leaves in the autumn.  Then when spring came, nothing. I have since read that this is a common fate for flowering cherries; they reach a certain age, seem OK, then die suddenly.  I had the branches trimmed lightly, planted a clematis to grow up it, and I use it to hang bird feeders.  The branches are very brittle now, so I wouldn't be surprised if, in a few years' time, it collapses under the weight of the clematis.

Fire

I wouldn't judge the tree just on the leaves. Scrape a little of the bark off the branches and see if they are green underneath. I would water well (if you are now not getting good rain) and wait until next spring to decide its fate.

Dovefromabove

Even if you are getting rain I’d give it a few buckets full today ... I pulled some pea hauled up the other day and prepared the ground for some seed sowing ... below the surface the veg patch is dry and dusty ... and I’ve been watering if all summer😳