Can you provide a photo of the entire tree? I
would like to see what the leaves look like.
Have you had a specialist out to look at your
tree in its current condition? How long has
the gummosis (what you call the black jelly
like substance) been present? Did you see
this same type condition in previous years?
Where the skin has been cut away or peeled
off to yield the bark, can you tell us how long
that has been there and did you do it or did
something else cause it to become so exposed?
At first the condition seems obvious but
without the flecking in the bark I suspect
a secondary invader has come in and has
taken up home in the slits in the bark.
I assume this is a Sweet Cherry. If not
then tell me what it is, as it will matter.
Can you scrape off one of the sections
that are black and show me what the bark
looks like from underneath the area that
had been scraped off. Can you show me
a photo of this tree at ground level as I'd
like to see what the graft union looks like
if there is one. Has this tree been prone
to send out suckers from the rootstock
in the past? Also, what is the clear plastic
like substance doing along the base of this
tree? If the wrap was meant to be a bark
protectant it should have come off a while
ago.
I may be wrong but in my experience...all fruit trees do that when they arent pruned properly. but that I mean that the tree should be opened up so as to let the sunlight penetrate the foliage completely. fruit trees that have to much leaves and not enough sun inside tend to be subject to insects and diseases. I would clean it up and treat it and then make sure it is pruned properly so it stays healthy.
Whatever the weird black stuff is, which looks like something one sees at the beach (gummosis is usually a clear or amber ooze that runs down the trunk vertically or remains in small, rounded blobs) the clear pastic wrapped around the bottom of the trunk can't be helping anything.
I think the plastic stuff is for tent worms -- put tenderfoot on it to stop the catapiller from climbing the tree ... but yea, it probably isn't good as it likely retaining a moist environment for fungus ... and since the plant has something. The trunk looks kind of mishapened like something has been going on for awhile -- could it be black knot fungus?
The fungus is probably Exidia glandulosa, aka Black Jelly Roll or Witches’ Butter.
E. glandulosa usually grows on dead wood. I doubt you'll be able to get rid of it and its presence is an indication your tree is probably about to expire.
Guy's, let's see what Loretta comes back with. It is
apparent we are dealing with a bacterial canker but
there seems to be a fungus at work here that can also
produce a canker as evidenced by the wetness and
the concentric rings in the bark. I've seen a fungus
come in and cover over the gummosis emanating
from the open slits (wounds) from bacterial canker
before. The problem will be, if I am right in which
fungus it is that is covering over the gummosis, is
that if left untreated this tree would be a goner
within 2-3 years, perhaps sooner growing here.
I can treat the trunk of the tree with some preparation
and good old white oil based or if need be latex paint
and give this tree a few more years of life if there is
enough tree to left to work with. I need to see what
the branches and the leaves looks like first to see if
this tree is worth trying to save.
I agree Chris, that we may be facing a hopeless
situation here but if there is a chance this tree
can be dealt with then I should know what to
try to do for it.
Jim
A quick note.
I am not suggesting that others do not entertain
any more thoughts on this tree's condition but
I will say that I will have no more involvement
in this thread until I have a better idea as to what
we are up against. There are some good people
that have become interested in this tree so we
might learn more about it later.
What will concern me some is if the black gummosis
is still pliable or has it become hardened almost like
a solidified tar or hardened up tree sealer. I've seen it
both ways but one is much harder to effectively treat
than the other form is if I am right in what I am thinking
this condition may be.
Last edited by mr.shep; June 18th, 2005 at 11:48 AM.
Reason: A quick note.
Thank you for your comments about my cherry tree fungus. It is a sweet cherry tree. The plastic tape was put on the tree about a week ago, it is double sided sticky tree tape purchased from Canadian Tire to control ants which I observed on the tree. The tree is about 5 years old. We had a good crop of cherries on it last year. The crack in the bark at the base of the tree occurred last year and appeares to be rehealing itself. We have removed the fungus, which came off fairly easy and have attached new pictures of the trunk of the tree, the whole tree, and a close up of the leaves. The tree was covered with flowers about a week ago, which have now fallen off. And again thank you for helpful comments.
Without going into too much detail as to what all
the problems are with this tree I'll offer what I
would do if the tree were mine.
The first thing I would do is remove all of the
gummosis emanating from the trunk. Scrape
it off if need be and let those wounds dry out.
Then I would come in and spray the trunk with a
fungicide mixed with a borer spray of some kind.
I would use a Copper sulfate spray with Ziram and
either Creosote and/or Lindane added to the mix
with water. If you cannot use or refuse to use a
strong insecticide like Lindane then use Diazinon
instead. For Pines and Spruce I've had success using
Creosote as a borer suppressant. The Ziram can help
dry up some of the open wounds brought about by
the cankers. I would spray the trunk one day, let it
dry and come back in with a second spray two days
later or once the trunk has fully dried out.
Then I would cover over as much of the uneven areas
of the trunk as possible with a tar like tree sealant to
fill in the depressed, eroded and exposed areas trying
to make the trunk whole again, symmetrical, all the
same shape. After the sealer has dried out and has
become hardened I would use an oil based white
paint and paint the whole trunk all the way up to the
crotch where the lowest branch emerges from the
trunk. I'd let the paint dry and then give the trunk a
second coat of paint a few days later.
Loretta, what you need most at this time is the white
paint if you do not want to use the fungicides and the
insecticide. The tree sealant is entirely optional and
is the least important of the tasks mentioned above.
Even if you just paint the trunk you will suppress some
of the fungus and the bacterial activity and help ward
off any new borer attacks. Once you have painted the
trunk covering over the wet areas you will have less
ant activity to worry about until this tree has fruit
again. I suggest that you may want to consider hiring
a professional to come in and prune your tree and pay
particular attention to the lesions in the branches, they
are vectors for trouble later. The lesions need to be
dealt with either by pruning them out or filling in and
covering them over with the white paint. I also suggest
you start deep watering this tree during the late Spring
and throughout the Summer. Give it a good drink of
water about once a week to every 10 days to coincide
with your watering system where you are once the
temperatures become warm. If you have not been
doing it you will want to dormant spray this tree when
temperatures allow it to be done in late Winter, early
Spring (do not use a dormant oil or a Volck type lime
sulfur spray in freezing weather as you can burn the
young twigs and perhaps some branches also).
Good luck,
Jim
A quick note:
A recommendation given by me to a homeowner
will in most cases differ from one that I will give
to someone in a professional capacity. I am a
member in these forums as not representing
anyone else other than me. I expect no one
to like the Lindane part but a homeowner that
still has the chemical can still use it for borers
whereas I cannot recommend anyone to go out
and buy Lindane, if they can, as that product was
taken off the market several years ago here. The
same basic scenario applies to Ziram as well as
Creosote and Diazinon much more recently here.
Then again, I referenced what I would do if the
tree was mine and I have done it before for this
same series of problems on a neighbors Bing
Cherry 25 years ago and the tree was 15 years
in the ground then. I can go out in my back yard
and look next door and see that the tree is still
alive.
Last edited by mr.shep; June 20th, 2005 at 11:39 AM.
Reason: A quick note a few hours later.
