Hi All,

We have a cherry tree in our front garden which is a bit dead! Probably
half of top of the tree is dead with no foliage. It's about as tall as
our house and I'd really like to be able to bring it back to life.

Has this tree reached the end? Would pruning it heavily help? Is so,
when and how?


Cheers,

Martin.

On 9/9/06 10:46, in article
, "klkbloke"
wrote:

Hi All,

We have a cherry tree in our front garden which is a bit dead! Probably
half of top of the tree is dead with no foliage. It's about as tall as
our house and I'd really like to be able to bring it back to life.

Has this tree reached the end? Would pruning it heavily help? Is so,
when and how?


I'm no expert on trees but it doesn't sound good. Cherry trees don't live
that long but OTOH, they do grow quite quickly. What you might consider is
cutting the top off this one, leaving as tall a stump as you wish and then
growing a rose or Clematis up it. In another part of the garden you could
plant a cherry or something else that takes your fancy like a tree I love
passionately called Clerodendron trichotomum fargesii. It doesn't get
enormous, it flowers at the end of August and is highly scented, followed by
china blue berries. It's a real gem.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/

On 9/9/06 15:03, in article , "Malcolm"
wrote:

snip A noted plantsman (and noted ornithologist) called Collingwood Ingram
was nicknamed 'Cherry' Ingram because of a life-long passion for them.
He collected plants in many different parts of the world, and is
credited with introducing some 50 cherry species and varieties to the
UK. He wrote a book called 'Ornamental Cherries', published in 1948. He
once said to me that cherry trees didn't live nearly long enough -
c.40-50 years comes to mind - and that he wished he had chosen a
different tree to specialise in. He was well into his 90s when he said
that; he died aged 100.


People can be a bit snobbish about flowering cherries but I think they're
spectacular especially, when, if there's space, they're planted as a small
grove. In my old Jersey garden I inherited two (which were already dying
back) and the sight of that bright pink blossom against a bright blue sky
has remained with me always.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/

On 9/9/06 16:35, in article , "Malcolm"
wrote:


In article , Sacha
writes
On 9/9/06 15:03, in article , "Malcolm"
wrote:

snip A noted plantsman (and noted ornithologist) called Collingwood
Ingram
was nicknamed 'Cherry' Ingram because of a life-long passion for them.
He collected plants in many different parts of the world, and is
credited with introducing some 50 cherry species and varieties to the
UK. He wrote a book called 'Ornamental Cherries', published in 1948. He
once said to me that cherry trees didn't live nearly long enough -
c.40-50 years comes to mind - and that he wished he had chosen a
different tree to specialise in. He was well into his 90s when he said
that; he died aged 100.


People can be a bit snobbish about flowering cherries but I think they're
spectacular especially, when, if there's space, they're planted as a small
grove. In my old Jersey garden I inherited two (which were already dying
back) and the sight of that bright pink blossom against a bright blue sky
has remained with me always.

We've got a little grove of them, two of which produce nice fruit, too
:-)

And I bet they look wonderful! In that same garden I had five silver
birches planted quite close together and some friends of mine who then lived
in quite a large place on Dartmoor came to stay. They strolled up the
garden one morning and came in for breakfast saying "we've walked through
the forest". ;-)
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/

On 9 Sep 2006 02:46:36 -0700, "klkbloke"
wrote:

Hi All,

We have a cherry tree in our front garden which is a bit dead! Probably
half of top of the tree is dead with no foliage. It's about as tall as
our house and I'd really like to be able to bring it back to life.

Has this tree reached the end? Would pruning it heavily help? Is so,
when and how?


Cheers,

Martin.

It could well be suffering from silver leaf disease, a fungal
infection common in cherries and other prunus species and which causes
dieback of shoots and branches and eventually kills the tree. The
leaves take on a silvery appearance, as the name implies. Spores enter
through open wounds, especially if the tree has been pruned while
dormant in winter. Infected branches show a brown or purplish stain in
their centres, visible when cut through. There's not usually much hope
of saving them. You can try cutting out the infected wood, but you
have to make sure to cut at least 15 cm below the lowest point of
infection, i.e. of brown staining. Make sure you dispose of all the
dead stuff, as leaving it lying around the garden is a sure way of
getting re-infection or spreading it to other cherries in the area.
IIRC it used to be a notifiable disease, as it could be devastating to
commercial cherry and plum orchards.


--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net

Chris Hogg wrote:

On 9 Sep 2006 02:46:36 -0700, "klkbloke"
wrote:

Hi All,

We have a cherry tree in our front garden which is a bit dead! Probably
half of top of the tree is dead with no foliage. It's about as tall as
our house and I'd really like to be able to bring it back to life.

Has this tree reached the end? Would pruning it heavily help? Is so,
when and how?


Cheers,

Martin.

It could well be suffering from silver leaf disease, a fungal
infection common in cherries and other prunus species and which causes
dieback of shoots and branches and eventually kills the tree. The
leaves take on a silvery appearance, as the name implies. Spores enter
through open wounds, especially if the tree has been pruned while
dormant in winter. Infected branches show a brown or purplish stain in
their centres, visible when cut through. There's not usually much hope
of saving them. You can try cutting out the infected wood, but you
have to make sure to cut at least 15 cm below the lowest point of
infection, i.e. of brown staining. Make sure you dispose of all the
dead stuff, as leaving it lying around the garden is a sure way of
getting re-infection or spreading it to other cherries in the area.
IIRC it used to be a notifiable disease, as it could be devastating to
commercial cherry and plum orchards.


--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net

Morning All,

Thanks for the prompt and informative responses. As suspected it sounds
like the tree needs to be removed which is a shame.

No signs of any diseases but I'll keep an eye out when I take the tree
down. We'll plant something in it's place but I think that's something
for next year.

Cheers.

Cherry trees, generally speaking, do not respond well to hard pruning.
The advice from C.Hogg is sensible, combinng this with some good
quality, well-rotted, mulch may revive the tree. Rarely does hard
pruning revitalise a tree. Such pruning may cause a flush of growth,
which is, basically, the tree endeavouring to recover from the huge
shock of its deprivation.If one is fond of a tree, and the tree is not
disease ridden, it is worth the effort to nurture the tree.
klkbloke wrote:
Chris Hogg wrote:

On 9 Sep 2006 02:46:36 -0700, "klkbloke"
wrote:

Hi All,

We have a cherry tree in our front garden which is a bit dead! Probably
half of top of the tree is dead with no foliage. It's about as tall as
our house and I'd really like to be able to bring it back to life.

Has this tree reached the end? Would pruning it heavily help? Is so,
when and how?


Cheers,

Martin.

It could well be suffering from silver leaf disease, a fungal
infection common in cherries and other prunus species and which causes
dieback of shoots and branches and eventually kills the tree. The
leaves take on a silvery appearance, as the name implies. Spores enter
through open wounds, especially if the tree has been pruned while
dormant in winter. Infected branches show a brown or purplish stain in
their centres, visible when cut through. There's not usually much hope
of saving them. You can try cutting out the infected wood, but you
have to make sure to cut at least 15 cm below the lowest point of
infection, i.e. of brown staining. Make sure you dispose of all the
dead stuff, as leaving it lying around the garden is a sure way of
getting re-infection or spreading it to other cherries in the area.
IIRC it used to be a notifiable disease, as it could be devastating to
commercial cherry and plum orchards.


--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net

Morning All,

Thanks for the prompt and informative responses. As suspected it sounds
like the tree needs to be removed which is a shame.

No signs of any diseases but I'll keep an eye out when I take the tree
down. We'll plant something in it's place but I think that's something
for next year.

Cheers.

In reply to Treelady ) who wrote this in
, I, Marvo, say :

Cherry trees, generally speaking, do not respond well to hard pruning.
The advice from C.Hogg is sensible, combinng this with some good
quality, well-rotted, mulch may revive the tree. Rarely does hard
pruning revitalise a tree. Such pruning may cause a flush of growth,
which is, basically, the tree endeavouring to recover from the huge
shock of its deprivation.If one is fond of a tree, and the tree is not
disease ridden, it is worth the effort to nurture the tree.

I was really looking forward to the Arboreal Flagellation ...