My Meteor Cherry is Sick - Ask Extension
This tree was planted in the early 2000s. It appeared healthy in the spring of 2022, full of blooms. As summer progressed I noticed the bark was peeli...
Knowledgebase
My Meteor Cherry is Sick #829804
Asked May 13, 2023, 9:36 AM EDT
This tree was planted in the early 2000s. It appeared healthy in the spring of 2022, full of blooms. As summer progressed I noticed the bark was peeling & curling, and leaves on small branches started dying. By the end of the summer the bark peels had scabbed over.
In very early spring 2023 I noticed the bark was peeling again but not as much as last year. Once it started leafing we saw that about 1/3 of the limbs were dead. It barely blossomed.
What is wrong with this tree, and what should we do at this point? I have more images than the three uploaded if you need more.
Regards, Jeanine
Hennepin County Minnesota
Expert Response
This may be a type of cytospora or bacterial canker. It cannot be diagnosed by photos. It requires a sample to the Plant Disease Clinic to diagnose something like this. See: https://pdc.umn.edu/