ornamental cherry problem

[murphy]

help!!...i live in the pacific north west and have a number of ornamental cherry trees...they start out fine in the spring - bloom beautifully, start to leaf out, and not long after the leaves appear, they start to deteriorate - they look almost burnt in places, and eventually fall leaving the tree looking like late autumn instead of high summer....since one of these trees is growing up thru my deck and provides important shade in the summer as well as branches for all my bird feeders, i really hope there is nothing seriously wrong....any suggestions as to what could be wrong or what i could do?

thanks in advance!

murphy

[murphy]

...urk....that doesnt sound good.....anything one can do for it??...or do you know of a URL where i can read about this....?..thanks anyway for a diagnosis..

murphy

[Beecrofter]

Odds are the problem is due to wet spring conditions and the leaves being destroyed by anthracnose. Fire blight will make the ends of the branches bend over like shepherds crooks. The cure is a chainsaw.

Check out any of the cooperative extension service pages on the web and I am sure you can narrowe your problem down.

[murphy]

..does this need a chainsaw too?...hopefully not..???

....nope - then it isnt fire blight...whew!

murphy, putting away chain saw and scurrying back to the tree url..

thanks for the input!

PS: we had a bit of rain last night...i only hope some of it fell on the forest fires here in BC

[J. Lane]

Hey Murphy, Didn't catch your post till today, Aug. 6. What part of this blackened and smoking province do you live in? Glad to hear you don't need need the chain saw!

[J. Lane]

Hi Murphy, Could be either of those diseases according to my book. The only reccomended "cure " is removal of infected branches and spraying. Bad luck! I live in Kamloops. So far OK but coughing and choking in the smoke which has filled the valley.See post on Fire in B.C. to get more info.

[murphy]

hi neighbour..!!..

....ohboy....kamloops....thats a little close for comfort, but good to hear you are safe.....i just came in from work and its trying to rain....one can only hope that it becomes steady and widespread....good for me so i dont have to water, and very very very good for the fire situation....

murphy