My old cherry tree looks like its end is coming near. Last year it
produced quite a bit of fruit but now it looks dead and all branches
seem dry (as if dormant) except for 2 or 3 small branches high up on
the trunk which managed to develop leaves and a few buds.
Can I take cuttings of the few small branches which have leaves?
Should I wait for the fruit to develop and save the cherry pits for sowing?


You can try taking cuttings, but a surer method would be to air-layer the
surviving branches. However, if the tree is dying of a disease (which it
probably is), the parts you save may already have the disease. Planting the
cherry pits will not help, because then you would get a different variety,
which may not have decent fruit.
Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming
train."
Robert Lowell (1917-1977)