I just discovered this gummy stuff oozing out of my cherry tree trunk. The tree is about 3 years old. The ooze is not sticky but more gelatinous. What should I do about it ?
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What zone is “Karalove15”?
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Welcome to the forum, @JasonDamm! You’ll generally find you get better answers to these kinds of questions if you put your USDA growing zone in your profile and also mention roughly the location of your tree (something like “the Great Lakes region” or “California central valley,” for example).
I’m no cherry tree expert and I’m sure someone else will have a better answer for you, but I’d say your tree looks looks it was physically damaged, and maybe developed a bacterial infection in the wounds (or maybe not?). The damage could have been from borer insects, or bird activity, or perhaps a naughty child with a screwdriver?
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Welcome to the forum. Interestingly enough I had similar looking ooze on an almond tree late summer early fall. Also stonefruit. I didn’t get much feedback on the ooze when I asked here. Here’s a picture of my tree where I found it but already wiped it off. Almond Tree Bark Problem
Here’s a quick search article with a few answers that might help. Gummosis Q&A
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Bacterial canker.
Read the threads below on bacterial canker in cherries.
https://growingfruit.org/t/how-virulent-is-bacterial-canker-in-cherries
https://growingfruit.org/t/sweet-cherry-recovers-from-bacterial-canker/
https://growingfruit.org/t/bacterial-canker-gummosis-borer-damage-apricot-and-aprium/
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Look for borers - making holes in the bark where the ooze is coming from.
Thank you. We’re in CA Central Valley Fresno. I don’t think there was any damage done by humans. Maybe borers but do they cause damage farther up the trunk like that or just near the base? Can it be Gummosis caused by borers? So essentially both? Should I cut out the cankers and spray it for borers? Is there an organic way to treat for borers? After cutting out the cankers is there any I should put on the wood to seal it and help it heal?
Good question. Sorry I fixed that. Not sure how that happened.
You mean some kind of ooze? Prunus generally make that gum in response to a wound of any kind. Think of it like a scab. The tree is sealing the wound and attempting to heal. Its up to you to determine if the wound is something that might benefit by intervention, like a borer. More often its just an eventuality, scrape, bark split, etc. Wounding it further will result in more “ooze” - more properly called gum. not to say you shouldn’t intervene, but it may or may not help, and will surely result in more gum
welcome
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I would concur with @hobilus, it is standard ooze. There doesn’t even need be an injury per se, the tree can crack in temp swings or a limb fell off at a spot etc.
The main thing to be concerned with ooze is if it is bacterial canker. Most ooze is not canker, but ooze is the main sign of canker. The ooze tends to be opaque and the bark around the ooze looks more sickly. Also it often can be seeing spreading down - the “drip” of the canker from the wound spreads to parts lower than the original canker. Your tree I see none of this on so I would guess its just standard ooze and it can be left alone. If you want to be sure cut it out with a knife. If the wood underneath looks unhealthy (brown instead of white/green), it is canker and you want to cut out all of the brown wood with a knife.
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