Hi Fred,
I also have a Montmorency tree here in zone 5 just north of Chicago. It is now
about 15 years old and still producing good crops. There have been a few seasons
where there was some leaf attack, but the tree always came back. It seems very
strange that your problem has not shown up in some form with damaged leaves.
It could be that the dwarf tree is approaching its life span limit, although I would
expect a few more years from your tree. If it is a fungus, it's a strange one that does
not give any indicators. Spraying for fungus certainly would not hurt. I sprayed my
stone fruits today with lime-sulfer spray to start off the season. You may want to do
the same.

Sherwin D.

wrote:

sherwindu wrote:
Need more information. How old are these trees? Planted about 13 years ago from a 5 gallon size nursery pot.

What variety of cherry? Montmorency (sp)
What climate zone are you in? 4 close to 5

What rootstock are they on? unknown

Did the effected
tree ever
look healthy and/or give fruit, or was it like that from the beginning. They were great till a couple years ago.

What kind of soil are they growing in? Clay, on a hill with good air
circulation.

What other trees and plants are growing nearby? Apple, Plum, Birch,
Willow, Pine... They all seem fine, I chase fire blight on the apples
from time to time.

Do the fallen leaves look attacked? No, doesn't look like insect work at all.

Any of these questions and possibly
more
can give clues as to the cause of the problem.
Just read you live in Minnesota. Cherry trees should be cold hearty
there, but there
are some varieties and/or rootstocks only good up to zone 5 (you must be
in zone 4)

Sherwin D.


Hope this helps, I guess so far that I need to use a fungis spray,
before they leaf out and after the blooms fall off.

Thanks,

Tim
wrote:

I have a pair of dwarf cherry trees. Both leaf out fine in the spring
but one looses it's leaves shortly thereafter. The other seems pretty
well but I have noticed a branch or 2 starting to do the same thing as
the other tree. Is there a cure for this? I don't see any other
problems on the surface.

Thanks,
Tim