We lost our Evans cherry tree this winter. I’m very disappointed, and frankly, rather surprised.

Cherry trees are known to be very durable trees, and the winter really wasn’t that difficult. We had an unseasonably warm October, followed by a significant cold snap, so many of the trees didn’t go into dormancy, and when the cold hit there was likely cell damage. Besides the cherry, we also lost a plum, and we had a close call with one of the apple trees I grafted several years ago.

Cherry Tree Pests

It just hasn’t been the year for cherries, it seems. A friend of mine in Tennessee called about how to handle the gangly roots on a gorgeous cherry tree in their yard once they pulled up rockwork over the area. They brought in a local landscaper who identified borers in the tree.

I’d never dealt with borers, so I had to look into it. Surprisingly to me, there are a lot of cherry tree pests!

Peachtree Borer

Despite the name, the peachtree borer doesn’t limit itself to one species. It’s one of the worst you can have because they do enough damage to potentially kill the trees. Each female adult moth lays 400 eggs at the base of the tree. The larvae emerge in a week and a half, and immediately start feeding. The problem is so much of it is in the lower part of the trunk, or even below the soil line, making it hard to detect. The best route to rid the tree of the borers is by applying an insecticide, often containing permethrin, when the eggs are vulnerable.

Shorthole Borer

While the peachtree borer is a native insect (not that it makes the extensive damage any better), the shothole borer is a European transplant. These tiny beetles drill holes into the bark and branches of the trees to lay their eggs, which in turn, drill more holes as the larvae feed on the tree before emerging and starting the cycle all over again. They typically focus on weakened trees making it important to keep your trees healthy. The bad news is insecticides generally don’t do much to kill them.

Bacterial Canker

Besides the borers, there are also a number of diseases and other pests that focus on cherry trees. I have seen trees with bacterial canker, which is a nasty looking condition that causes a lot of oozing in the tree. Choosing varieties that are resistant to canker, as well as being particularly cautious of when and how to prune (you want dry conditions) can help mitigate the issue.

Worms

The other pest that is prominent with a lot of cherry varieties are worms in the cherries. I’ll never forget snacking on a whole bunch of pie cherries a long time ago, only to be told they were all filled with worms. Yuck! The adult of the western cherry fruit fly punctures the skin of the fruit to deposit the egg, which matures inside the cherry and has an instant food source. The way to reduce the numbers is to prevent the worms from overwintering in the soil (then emerging in the spring to eventually lay eggs in the cherries again) by cleaning up fallen cherries, having chickens in the orchard, or pulling landscape fabric over the area.

Cherries are typically a rather easy fruit to grow, but as you can see, they have a few issues. The best thing to do is to keep an eye on your trees, and try to be proactive when it comes to managing diseases or any of the myriad of pests.