flowering cherry

[ChrisG]

In my garden I have a Kanzan flowering cherry tree. It is about 10-12 years old; I planted it myself in the middle of a small lawned area of the garden. Every year it has flowered beautifully - till this year.

This year there was not one flower whatsoever and on examination, there were no buds either.

Now it is beginning to lose leaves, as if it was autumn and some of the leaves on some of the branches are decidedly dead, brown and curled up.

Any ideas what is happening to it and what I might do to save it? I would hate to lose it, because it really is lovely when it's in flower.

[Mo]

Do you think it has peach leaf curl?

[ChrisG]

Just been to g00gle to look at peach leaf curl and no, it's nothing like that. Looks more like just dead leaves hanging on the tree, as you might get with autumn or frost damage or something. And it hadnt affected most of the tree, just small branches and leaves at the very tips of the bigger branches. Will take a picture, so you can see what I mean.

[ChrisG]

Ok that took longer than expected - took pics, ate dinner, uploaded pics to photobucket,resized and now Im back to put on here!

Healthy branch end:



Tree showing dead branch out to the left:


All the dead stuff is just randomly all over the tree.

Dead leaves on the end of a branch (looks like they have just beed added for effect! I assure you they havent):



Closeup of dead leaves:



There is nothing inside the curl of the leaf - no insects, no obvious disease, nothing.

[albertajune]

Hello Ruth. Are all your leaves going the same way or just some?
I have planted the same species on the grass verge near my home and it was beautiful as usual in the spring.
It almost sounds as though your tree is dying. We did have very heavy snow in the winter and then lots of rain early on. Could the roots have got water logged and rot set in. I hope not.
June

[ChrisG]

Thanks June. I hope it isnt too.

The elaves are dying all along some branches (like the one in the picture) but on others it is just the leaves at the tips, or the leaves on small twigs, where the rest of the rbanch is unaffected. It is sporadic and by no means seems to be over all the tree, just randon places really. And elss than 1/4 of the tree is affected.

[Steve the Gas]

What about the opposing theory of sacrificial branches in drought, just a thort...

[Homemade]

Two possibles - cherry canker, is there any sticky jelly sap oozing out.
Or possibly honey fungus?
I would prune out any dead branches now as the summer is a good time. If you scratch the bark and you can see green just under the surface then there is life, if not you should prune it out.

[ChrisG]

There doesnt appear to be anything oozing from anywhere. I will try the green stick test and prune away. Hopefully the tree will survive and hasnt got some terminal somethingorother

[ChrisG]

Steve, if you had seen the weather we have had up here so far this year - it has rained almost all the time for weeks and weeks!

[lancashire lass]

Steve, if you had seen the weather we have had up here so far this year - it has rained almost all the time for weeks and weeks!

... here in the Midlands we are still in a drought - apart from recent torrential rain, the soil is bone dry.

I don't really have much to offer - not really a tree expert at all. When leaves die back, I start to wonder about the roots. Clearly you haven't moved the tree so no chance of root disturbance, but could it be honey fungus?

see this link: http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/Pro ... px?pid=180

[ChrisG]

Doesnt honey fungus reveal itself with toadstools in the surrounding grass, or at the base of the tree? There is nothing evident (shrug shoulders)

[lancashire lass]

toadstools are just the fruiting bodies which show up briefly at a certain time of the year - most of the fungus is a mesh of mycelium doing its worst

[ChrisG]

Didnt know that - so how can I discover if it is?

[Steve the Gas]

Dig down a little and if you see white/cream damp cobweb like matting/threads - then that is mycelium.