jelly-ish goop on young cherry tree

Watch Reply
More
Mark unread Print Skip to new
mrs_colla Marin, CA(Zone 9b) Jan 12, 2008

On my cherry tree there is some brown jelly looking goop around a branch.
Does that mean the graft is going bad?
Do I need to treat it with something?
This tree has been in the ground 3 years here.
Any ideas greatly appreciated!
Christie

Post #4391721
Quote
ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Jan 12, 2008

Can you post a picture? It could be that there was a little cut in the branch, and it's starting to wake up for the spring and the sap is flowing and just oozed out a bit. Or it could be something like canker. And there are probably other possibilities as well, a picture would really help narrow things down.

Post #4391744
Quote
mrs_colla Marin, CA(Zone 9b) Jan 12, 2008

Thanks Ecrane, will do!
CC

Post #4392149
Quote
mrs_colla Marin, CA(Zone 9b) Jan 13, 2008

Alrighty, here is the picture. It's not pretty!!!

Thumbnail by mrs_colla
Post #4393154
Quote
mrs_colla Marin, CA(Zone 9b) Jan 13, 2008

one more

Thumbnail by mrs_colla
Post #4393156
Quote
mrs_colla Marin, CA(Zone 9b) Jan 13, 2008

and from a bit further away

Thumbnail by mrs_colla
Post #4393163
Quote
ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Jan 13, 2008

It looks like a canker to me. Here's an article that describes the multiple things that can cause gumming like this in cherry trees (including the different causes of canker)
http://www.walterreeves.com/landscaping/article.phtml?cat=18&id=926http://www.walterreeves.com/landscaping/article.phtml?cat=18&id=926

Here's a picture of canker on a cherry tree which reminds me a lot of what your tree looks like
http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/pp/extension/tfabp/Disease/4.jpg

And here's an article or two on canker
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/GARDEN/FRUIT/DISEASE/baccanker.html
http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/cropprot/tfipm/bacterialcanker.htm
http://idid.essortment.com/cherriesbacteri_rjcz.htm

This page details all the afflictions that can affect cherries if you want to take a look through and see if there's anything else that looks like yours: http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/GARDEN/FRUIT/cherries.html (This site from UC Davis is a great one to bookmark, it's a wonderful reference to help with IDing and treating lots of different garden problems)

The bad news is that canker can be hard to treat--most of the things I've read suggest pruning off the canker-affected areas (which in your case looks like it would be hard to do without killing the tree) and then applying copper fungicides in the fall. But even if you can't save this tree, if you think you want to plant another cherry in its place, it would be good to think about other stresses that could have been going on--canker tends to pick on trees that are under stress already from some other cultural or environmental factor.

Post #4395747
Quote

Post a Reply to this Thread

Please or sign up to post.
Back to Forum Homepage

More Trees, Shrubs and Conifers Threads

Go to all Trees, Shrubs and Conifers threads
BACK TO TOP