Since Brown Rot on ornamental cherries is difficult to manage and prevent without relying on fungicides, using a different tree species would be the most practical solution when a tree needs replacement. It appears that the organization also offers redbud (we presume the native, Cercis canadensis) and Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida, we assume). For areas with full sun or soil prone to drought (that is, unable to be monitored regularly for watering needs), redbud would fare better than dogwood, especially if it happens to be surrounded by turfgrass that may be limed periodically, since they can take a higher soil pH than dogwoods. If you can select other species not on their list, we can share some ideas.

There are myriad flowering cherry varieties, though perhaps only about a dozen of them are more-or-less common in local horticulture. Some are more vulnerable to diseases like Brown Rot while others (like 'Yoshino') are more vulnerable to diseases like Cherry Shot Hole. Few, if any, have high resistance to both, though candidates to consider include 'First Lady' and 'Dream Catcher' (both pink). Plant disease spread and severity can be highly tied to weather, so a wet year one spring might result in more rampant infection than a drier year in another spring. Between Brown Rot and Shot Hole, the latter is more of a cosmetic problem and less of a serious threat to plant health, though repeated years of heavy infection (that causes premature defoliation by late summer) could gradually weaken a tree. We don't have an Extension-researched disease-resistant cherry variety list available, but nurseries supplying them should have information about resistance to any particular disease, if applicable.

Other tree species to consider include those below. Matching them to existing conditions at the planting site is the best approach, since trying to adjust site conditions to suit the needs of a particular tree is usually not successful or could lead to chronic tree stress. (Like with people, stress in plants can result in a greater susceptibility to disease.) Ecologically, using a native species is preferable for its potentially greater benefits for wildlife. We're not certain if a pink flower color is part of the design goal for tree plantings with this program (the images on their site suggest it is), but since many small flowering trees bloom white instead, we'll include them as well. Be aware that every tree species or variety has its own vulnerabilities, so a disease that won't bother one could still affect another; none are immune to all potential problems, so occasional leaf spots (which rarely are serious) or other issues could still crop up. Using species-diverse plantings is the best approach to avoid an outbreak affecting multiple trees equally severely, though we realize that decision might be out of your hands when the program does a mass planting in a given area.

• Crabapple (Malus, many species/cultivars)
  • a number of cultivars these days have good resistance to common diseases, but avoid any that do not have above-average resistance to at least one or two of the typical ailments (rust being one example)
  • this group is so diverse due to breeding that mature heights vary a lot, and some varieties have purplish leaves in spring or summer, or golden berries instead of red
  • blooms can be reddish-pink, light pink, or white
• Carolina Silverbell (Halesia)
  • native south of us, but hardy here
  • blooms white or pale pink
• Japanese Snowbell (Styrax japonicus) or Fragrant Snowbell (Styrax obassia)
  • fragrant blooms (more so for the latter)
  • flowers are white or light pink for the former, and only white for the latter
  • grows a bit taller than redbud and dogwood
• Sweetbay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana)
  • locally native
  • semi-evergreen (meaning a few leaves are retained, but at least half or most of them shed for winter)
  • fragrant white blooms
  • berries in pine cone-like pods feed migrating birds
  • good tolerance for soils that skew wet
• other Magnolias (several species/hybrid varieties)
  • often pink, some quite dark purplish-pink, some pale pink; some white; some pastel yellow
  • usually fragrant
  • comparatively slow-growing and those with multiple trunks might look a bit shrubby for a while until they mature
• American Fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus)
  • fragrant, white blooms
  • might produce olive-like berries for birds, but only if a female tree is pollinated by a male tree, and nursery trees are rarely identified by sex
• Yellowwood (Cladrastis kentuckea)
  • fragrant, white blooms (a pale pink form exists but is harder to find)
  • native outside of the Mid-Atlantic, but hardy here
  • matures larger than most flowering trees
• Corneliancherry Dogwood (Cornus mas)
  • yellow blooms very early in the season (potentially in late winter)
  • flaking bark with maturity
  • more adaptable than our native dogwood in terms of soil characteristics and a full sun exposure
• Witchhazel (Hamamelis x intermedia)
  • although there is a native species (H. virginiana), it blooms in Oct-Nov when the yellow blooms visually compete with the yellowing foliage, and may be hard to appreciate (though they are fragrant) compared to the Ozark U.S. native (H. vernalis) and the commonly-sold Asian hybrids that bloom in late winter or very early spring
  • many of the Asian types are also fragrant, though intensity varies, and their colors range from bright to muted yellow, orange, and near-red
  • although straddling the line between a large shrub and a small tree, its vase-shaped (wide-branching) habit can certainly be used like a small tree specimen as long as the low branches won't be in the way of a pathway or street curb; at the age they are sold, most will look like a shrub for at least a few years while they gain height and fill in

Miri