Flowering Cherry limb/twig wilt
I spray our “dwarf” flowering cherry each fall and early spring with copper and then sulfur with usually questionable results trying to mitigate shot-hole issues with the first leaf-out. But for some years the tree endures leaf wilt the week after blossom fall/leaf-out. Usually entire branches exhibit dying new leaves. It’s about the same time as I try to spray draconil for leaf spot, but as usual once again this year the wilt is occurring prior to that. Some branches exhibit resin bursts in places. I’m inclined to think it may be some pest or microbial invader, shutting off nutrient flow to the branch. Wilting starts at the new leaf-outs at the branch terminus and progresses quickly up-stem, but may stop short of the limb base allowing prior leaf nodules to grow normally. I’m tired of having to prune dead branches out each spring and summer, and wonder if there’s a systemic or sprayed-on pesticide I should be using. Half the limbs die-back each mid-April, although many revitalize for the second leaf-out, in a few weeks, making it hard to decide right now what to prune out. Joel Ashley Clackamas
Clackamas County Oregon