That doesn’t look good at all. Maybe a really bad case of cherry leaf spot? If that’s so (guessing here) it would be really devastating for a plant this small.
While you try to sort things out applying a fungicide would not be the worst thing to do. There is a good chance that it was the cause and if it isn’t it would provide a prophylactic protection from opportunistic fungi. If the problem is viral well the fungicide would not help but it would not hurt either.
Where I am the weather is harsh so young trees that go into dormancy after a season like this would die anyways. Me (and my harsh environment) I would just cut it and dispose of it where it would not contaminate something else. Sometimes a bad batch from a nursery can introduce nasty stuff into your orchard.
I can only empathize. Mine do the exact same every year. Trees are years behind in growth… Some branches die completely. Others can be saved by cutting below affected areas.
@Johern
Can we see the whole tree. The first pic does not look good. The branch/twig is shriveled/dying.
How long ago did you planted it?
Was the tree bare rooted and dormant when you planted it?
What kind of soil?
How much and how often did you water it?
Can we see the whole tree. The first pic does not look good. The branch/twig is shriveled/dying.
My apologies for the delay in reply, I travel for work and I’m only home for the weekend.
I attached a picture of the whole tree. I sprayed neem oil last week and the leaves seem a bit better but still sad looking.
The tree was bareroot and dormant when I planted it and I’ve planted it just this spring. The soil under the raised bed of 1 foot is heavy clay. The raised bed soil is a mix of topsoil, compost and pine bark. It have been raining about 0.05 inches almost everyday so I haven’t watered the tree for almost a month. I have a moisture tester and according to the readings the first 2 inch of soil is dry but the lower parts of the soil is more and more moist.
It could be, it has been raining lightly almost non stop. Very wet and warm spring. According to the article, it seems that the root rot is caused just by roots being wet too long. Can I replant a new cherry tree later at the same spot but perhaps having a raised bed of 2 feet instead on 1 like now? I’m not sure the the soil is “infected” or just a simple drainage problem. Thxs for pointing me towards the potential problem with the drainage. The nursery said to have 1 feet of soil on top but I can always have it higher.
I know cherry trees hate clay. Perhaps 1 foot clearence isn’t enough. Probably should have dug out two or three feet of the clay and backfilled.
My advice looking at those leaves would be to spray some pesticides at least around the trunk. What you don’t want right now is more damage from bugs. The tree just now appears to be waking up. So I wouldn’t worry too much yet.
I wonder if you try to grow something that is not recommended for your area. If that’s the case, it will be an uphill battle. Do other people near you grow this cherry successfully?
Have you reached out to your local university’s extension service for consult or advice?
My guess is the soil below is too wet. You should build a higher berm (3-4 ft tall) to avoid roots being too wet.
Before you spray, please check various spray in the Guide category here.
Chlorothalonil (brand name Daconil) is an effective fungicide but has limited use. It cannot be sprayed after fruit have formed due to its long lasting effect.
I would not spray anything until you know what the problem your tree is having.
I’m in a community where most people raise horses. Not many fruit growers or farmers in my county unfortunately. I can contact a local university extension. I have not tried that.
Where is the guide category for sprays? I can’t seem to find it.
To find other categories on the forum.
On the top right corner of the page, there is a symbol of three short lines.
Click on it, you will see a lot of info shows up.
Click on the Categories
When the page displayed, choose All categories
When all categories show up, choose Guides
There are a lot of threads in Guides
Look for threads such as Low Impact Spray, Low Spray Synthetic version and Spray Amount Guide.
Welcome to the forum! Same thing happened to me many times in Kansas. Every cherry tree i planted did the same thing sometimes fast or sometimes slowly. Plowed a terrace and planted the sweet cherry on top of the mound using mahaleb rootstock. Actually it might have originally been a black tartarian on mahaleb. If you want throw some old manure in once in awhile as you make your mound. After i made that mound and planted the mahaleb i never had any problems. I grafted sweet cherry and sour cherries to the same mahaleb rootstock once it was established. This is Kansas so i never saw a totally ripe sweet cherry but in a way i kind of felt like it was a win anyway. The sour cherries sure are tasty! One strategy you might consider i have had really good luck with is buy you some carmine jewell cherries and plant them without all the trouble. Graft on some sweet cherries later on! The carmine jewell is a heavy feeder so work in plenty of fertilizer Carmine Jewell Cherry Yields increasing with age . Here is how i grafted sweet cherry Sweet cherry grafts . Good luck either way you decide to go! Here are some photos of the mound tree but dont laugh to hard. All my sweet cherries always get stolen! It is a pretty poor looking tree but the point is it can be done and much better than i did it.
