Is this a problem

I found some sap leaking and it appeared to be bacterial canker, I started to remove it but found myself going all the way around the stem of my cherry tree, 360 degrees. Does this mean I have just killed it, because I only cut the brown part?

If you did not cut into the cambium then the tree can live. I would protect the wound with grafting tape, and then after it has healed for several months remove the tape and paint over with tree seal.

I’m not sure about the bacterial canker diagnosis. Cherry is vigorous and when grafted on dwarfing or semi-dwarfing rootstock can exhibit gumosis in young trees due to differences in phloem capacity.

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I pretty much left no cambium all the way around but I believe there is still sapwood there, the canker infected all of the cambiumall the way around

I think I would need to emergency bridge graft tomorrow morning, I just don’t know it would work

@Palmy_Oceans

Can you take a photo? If the tree is girdled it doesnt look good. This is the wrong time of the year for bridge grafting. If there is some of the tree left below the canker it would be better off to cut it off below the girdling. The tree has a good chance to sprout out and grow again but you would need to water it regularly.

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Another thing about girdling is it often does not kill the tree immediately. It will regrow leaves next year on stored energy making it look like it will make it, but odds are it will not. On the other hand I’ve seen some girdles heal.

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Everything under the plastic is cut down to the sapwood part under the cambrium

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@Palmy_Oceans

Cut the tree off below the plastic unfortunately in my opinion. There is no gurantee it will live even then. Stone fruit dont like pruned that severely. If i had a large pest tree i wanted to kill i would do that very thing to it.

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adding a few bridge grafts wouldn’t be any good here?

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@Palmy_Oceans

Its my opinion its very hot for bridge grafts and its very likely they would fail. Meanwhile your trees energy is being spent. If you chop the top off the energy is spent on vegetative growth if you water heavily. Thats the route i would go personally. With any luck that gives you months to get some carbs stored up in the roots and new growth started.

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alright, its just many years of growth that will be tooken, ill have to wait a lot more now to get cherries :joy: I guess if that the better way ill do that.

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Had 3 peaches one year like that 1 died the other two fully recovered.

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how would I be able to prevent such a thing from ever occurring again? In another 5 years I don’t really want to have to chop down the tree again :joy:

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recovered when you chopped off the top?

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Are those others growing next to the one in question,the same variety?

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@Palmy_Oceans

Thats correct i had all the growth back in 2 years i lost but it was a huge setback.

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Yes this is a bush cherry but the other stems are relatively weak and this central one is what carries the cherries

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preventing would be impossible, would copper do anything?

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They should grow more,if the one is removed,so all is not lost.

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