Q.Problem With Cherry Blossom Tree!
Hi! I was wondering would you be able to help me with an issue I am having with my cherry blossom tree! This tree is a ornamental double pale pink/ white flowering tree with green leaves. It has been planted in my garden for about 10+ years now and only this year we have seen a big problem! The leaves are curling and are mostly red in color! The leaves at the bottom on the tree are green, it’s only the top ones that are curling and discoloured! The truck and some branches seems to be displaying some type of disease as well! Just for more detail, the area of the garden gets a lot of sun, and as there’s are no trees around us in other gardens, it gets most of the wind! (The base of the tree is filled with a 2 feet x 2 feet flower bed as well.) We have another cherry blossom tree planted about 30 feet away from this one and is looking healthy (it’s in a more sheltered, shaded area). Could you please help me and advise me what the issue is and what I can do! Open to any suggestions? What steps do I have to take to ensure that it looks healthier? Thank you advance and looking forward to hearing from you.
Certified GKH Gardening Expert
One thing you can do to help it is to remove the vegetation at the base of the tree, which is competing for nutrients and water with the tree. It also gives mice a place to hide while nibbling the trunk. Replace the vegetation with mulch out to the dripline. If you are regularly watering the plants, the excess water at the base of the trunk can cause root and crown rot, which causes leaves to wilt and discolor. Hopefully that is not the issue here, because there is no cure.
Another possibility is black cherry aphids. Check the bottom of the leaves. They suck the juice out of plant leaves, which can cause curling. There will be sticky "honeydew" as well.
There are a few "shot holes" in the leaves, but they also could be insect feeding damage.
The white patches on the trunk look like tree lichen, which is harmless. No treatment is needed.
These articles should help:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/cherry/cherry-tree-diseases.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/disease/crown-rot-disease.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/cherry/managing-black-cherry-aphids.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/fungus-lichen/treatment-tree-lichen.htm
https://extension.umd.edu/resource/ornamental-cherry-trees-identify-and-manage-problems
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/cherry/cherry-shot-hole-disease.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/ornamental-cherry/flowering-cherry-tree-care.htm
