Why my cherry unhappy??
Discussion
We have a decent sized (20ft) flowering cherry that's flowered well but isn't getting leaves like it should and is pretty bare. A lot of the leaves have holes in them but I have no idea if that's disease or bugs, or even whether that's a result of the unhappiness or the cause.
Any ideas??
Any ideas??
Following with interest, we have one which isn't as mature as yours but often looks a little sorry for itself. I like it but to be honest am half tempted to get rid of it, we get a nice healthy blossom in Feb/Mar but it only lasts a few days before the wind means it all goes, then it takes forever for the leaves to grow in spring and they rarely look that green and healthy before autumn kicks in again.
Do like your garden Bill. Always looks nice when you post picks. Same as PositronicRay's.
Water logging. Cherry's don't like being wet and that tends to be a big culprit in getting a crap year from one. Sudden frosts during budding, like magnolias can be a cause but we've had a mild winter and lots of rain so unless it's old age it might be soggy roots.
Water logging. Cherry's don't like being wet and that tends to be a big culprit in getting a crap year from one. Sudden frosts during budding, like magnolias can be a cause but we've had a mild winter and lots of rain so unless it's old age it might be soggy roots.
Could be the beginning of a shot hole disease caused by fungal or bacterial pathogens. Difficult to tell from the pics but, if so, likely to become more peppered with holes, turn yellow and drop its leaves. Could be that the tree is stressed, try and work out why, too much/little water, over/under fed, exposed to weather etc. It may be worth treating with a fungicide if all else fails. where in the world are you out of interest?
Silvanus said:
Could be the beginning of a shot hole disease caused by fungal or bacterial pathogens. Difficult to tell from the pics but, if so, likely to become more peppered with holes, turn yellow and drop its leaves. Could be that the tree is stressed, try and work out why, too much/little water, over/under fed, exposed to weather etc. It may be worth treating with a fungicide if all else fails. where in the world are you out of interest?
We're south coast, 100m up. It's behind the house to the north and fairly close but the hill faces south with a ridge that reduces the SWerly winds.What you say makes sense and is what we've been thinking might be the underlying issue. It's been fine up to now but has grown substantially in the last 12 years we've been here and is in a bed surrounded by paths. When we've dug in other bits of the same bed the soil is pretty shallow and you hit clay after a bit more than a foot. That end of the bed slopes so water runs off pretty well so I don't think it's too much water. But because of the bird feeders theres lots of scratching round the base so the rain has taken a fair bit of the top soil as well.
I suspect it's outgrown its space and underfed. Think a decent layer of compost at the base is our first line.
I was hoping to cut it back this year as it's rubbing the gutter and roof but can't while it's weak. It'd be a shame to lose it as it's a lovely tree and spectacular for a couple of weeks a year (and then like living in the aftermath of a wedding
)Edited by Bill on Saturday 25th May 07:49
DonkeyApple said:
Do like your garden Bill. Always looks nice when you post picks. Same as PositronicRay's.
Water logging. Cherry's don't like being wet and that tends to be a big culprit in getting a crap year from one. Sudden frosts during budding, like magnolias can be a cause but we've had a mild winter and lots of rain so unless it's old age it might be soggy roots.
Thank you, I just dig/build/hack where I'm told. Water logging. Cherry's don't like being wet and that tends to be a big culprit in getting a crap year from one. Sudden frosts during budding, like magnolias can be a cause but we've had a mild winter and lots of rain so unless it's old age it might be soggy roots.
I guess it's 25 years old or so, although it flowers in turn as part of a sequence* of 5 and a couple of those are 40ft.
*Possibly coincidence, but they go in turn from the front of the house back up the garden.
Bill said:
Silvanus said:
Could be the beginning of a shot hole disease caused by fungal or bacterial pathogens. Difficult to tell from the pics but, if so, likely to become more peppered with holes, turn yellow and drop its leaves. Could be that the tree is stressed, try and work out why, too much/little water, over/under fed, exposed to weather etc. It may be worth treating with a fungicide if all else fails. where in the world are you out of interest?
We're south coast, 100m up. It's behind the house to the north and fairly close but the hill faces south with a ridge that reduces the SWerly winds.What you say makes sense and is what we've been thinking might be the underlying issue. It's been fine up to now but has grown substantially in the last 12 years we've been here and is in a bed surrounded by paths. When we've dug in other bits of the same bed the soil is pretty shallow and you hit clay after a bit more than a foot. That end of the bed slopes so water runs off pretty well so I don't think it's too much water. But because of the bird feeders theres lots of scratching round the base so the rain has taken a fair bit of the top soil as well.
I suspect it's outgrown its space and underfed. Think a decent layer of compost at the base is our first line.
I was hoping to cut it back this year as it's rubbing the gutter and roof but can't while it's weak. It'd be a shame to lose it as it's a lovely tree and spectacular for a couple of weeks a year (and then like living in the aftermath of a wedding
)Edited by Bill on Saturday 25th May 07:49
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