Cherry tree not doing well

lukeogroves

Hey all.  After some advice please. New to growing so please be gentle. My cherry tree was doing really well, leafy, green, with fruits growing. Now.... the leaves were curling up really bad and have gone brown and fallen off. Some fruit has gone yellow. I’m growing in a pot with decent soil, feed and and I water once a day. I got a ph/moisture reader and the soil is always alkaline, never dry. It’s in an area of the garden that gets good sun with shade. Noah2017 djacent loganberry bush and gooseberry bush is thriving. 

I just dont don’t know what to do to save it

Omori

It looks like it is being overwatered.  Also, hard to tell from this angle, but the pot seems too small.  I would repot in a much larger pot.  It’s also best to raise pots off the ground to allow the water to drain properly. Lastly it is planted too low, the soil level should come up higher in the pot (you only need to leave a 1” gap from the soil to the top of the pot).

lukeogroves

Thanks Omori. This is valuable advice I will take it all on board. I’m wondering how I can raise the pita off the ground? Maybe some bricks?

Omori

Yeah that’s fine as long as it is stable.  They also sell pot feet for raising them up. 

Dovefromabove

Omori said:

... Lastly it is planted too low, the soil level should come up higher in the pot (you only need to leave a 1” gap from the soil to the top of the pot).

I agree with everything @Omori has said, but would add (just to clarify) don’t plant the tree deeper in the soil ... the top of the roots should be just below the soil surface.

 Planting the tree so that its stem/trunk is below the soil will kill it. 

lukeogroves

Thanks all I will give all this a try!

Omori

Yes that’s good clarification, I meant in the future with repotting, and for any future pots, you only need 1” to allow for watering. 

sprunger.joel

Consider taking the fruit off for the first few years while it gets established. That will allow your tree to put all nutrients into more foliage.

mrtjforman

all great advice so far. You are not doing too badly at all. Cherries on gisella root stocks can't produce that much fruit and you have a decent amount of cherries but if it is your first year then you should cut the cherries - at this stage since they are pretty developed I'd just cut half of them - all the small ones. Your tree will suffer if you don't.

Repot into a bigger pot.

Then onto the state of the tree. If is beeing attacked by insects, I am suspecting more than one insect. The left branch has been stripped completely of leaves unless you snipped them as they died.

One of the right branches the leaves are curling like they have aphids hiding under the leaves. See if you can find any green or black little insects there.

Otherwise the tree needs some light pruning now. Especially that diseased cluster (whateve is attacking it) should be lopped off.

Have a loook at this pruning video to show you:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tADEOd64Gmk

lukeogroves

Hello sorry for the delay in replying. So i stripped the cherry tree back as all the leaves were dying. I found green and black bigs under the leaves plus snail trail. Are there any suggestions for the bugs? Something natural? I’ve invested in Sluggo as many of my fruit plants at being attacked . I’ve repotted in a 50cm pot and left several cherries but not many. Unsure if they can survive without any leaf at all?! There isn’t a great deal of new green growth so worried about next year. Thanks for all the help. 

Get pruning video thankyou.