Fruiting cherry canker
Furry
Posts: 2
Good morning to all gardeners!
I planted a fruiting cherry two years ago and it seemed to be settling in well, until early June when all the foliage and developing fruit dropped off. New growth is surviving, but the tree looks odd with leaves only at the tips of the branches! Open sores have formed on the trunk and branches that ooze a gummy secretion, which suggests this is canker, a bacterial infection. The only treatment I have read about is to remove the affected branches, but it wouldn't help in this case as the trunk is also infected.
My questions are - is it worth leaving the tree as it isn't dead and hope for improvement next year and, if I grub it up and replant in the same hole, is there a chance of the infection being passed on?
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I'd start with a new one Furry. If you do any winter pruning. I'd kick that in to touch. And just do a summer pruning.
Thanks, Musher.
I guess I knew that a death sentence would be answer - I just hate giving up on an ailing plant when some of them pull round against the odds, but I want to see some fruit, so I'll have to bite the bullet. It hasn't got big enough to need pruning, but I'll follow your advice with the replacement.