Dying Kwanzan cherry tree

Question: I have had this tree for 11 years, this is the first year that it only had a handful of blooms. Now this is what is going on with half of it and looking like it's moving to the other half. We had a late frost and I am thinking that could be the reason but not sure. Do I remove the dead limbs or is the tree too far gone? I am unsure of the course of action to take with this tree.

responder: An Ask Extension Expert Replied June 22, 2023, 2:42 PM EDT
response: Hi - from just a few pictures it is often very difficult to diagnose a problem. Many plants were hit by that late frost and the new emerging foliage was killed. In some cases latent buds will develop into new foliage. If you remember we had 2 arctic events - one the day before Christmas when the temperatures plummeted and one in early February. They caused some or all of the tissue on various plants to die and that could be why some of your stems are dead as well as why there is so few flowers as the buds were damaged by the sudden drop in temperatures. You can scrap the leafless stems with your fingernail and see if there is any green tissue right under the bark. If not, that stem is probably dead and should be removed. So I would remove any dead branches, fertilize the tree and keep it moist if we go into a dry spell later this summer. You may need to just wait and see what happens this growing season and whether or not the tree recovers or deteriorates further before deciding what to do with it. You can also call the horticulturists at the UConn Home & Garden Education Center at<personal data hidden> and go into more detail about what you are seeing and they may have other suggestions.

responder: The Question Asker Replied June 23, 2023, 9:19 AM EDT
response: THank you, I did take a few test of the branches and they do have a layer of green. But what I did see when I went out to cut limbs, I moved some rocks and came across this gel like substance (sorry no pic) but I googled it and from my understanding it is some sort of sap oozing from the tree from being stressed. I noticed it on a couple small areas. So I did cut out the areas where this was as it wasn't just one branch to cut off. The trunk had it below the rocks. I am going to get some fertilizer this weekend and see if this will help as well.  I appreciate your help, hope I did the correct thing removing the parts where the gel was oozing. I think it was called gummosis?

responder: An Ask Extension Expert Replied June 23, 2023, 10:23 AM EDT
response: Hi - Often times members of the prunus family, like cherry, do exhibit signs of gummosis and it can be due to anything from physical injury to insects or diseases. Sometimes the stress is obvious and sometimes not. It wasn't clear if you had cut off chunks of the tree trunk where you saw the gummy substance. While you can remove affected branches, it is best to not cut into the tree trunk as right under the bark is where water and nutrients travel up the tree to the branches and leaves from the roots.   If it is a disease and you do notice cankers forming on branches, they can be cut off. Otherwise just try to keep the tree as stress free as possible and see how it looks at the end of the summer. If it really is doing poorly, you might want to replace it with a different species of tree. Prunus family members, have a lot more problems than other species of trees but the cherries in particular do look beautiful when all goes well.

responder: The Question Asker Replied June 23, 2023, 12:17 PM EDT
response: Thank you. I did take a small layer off the trunk base, tried to keep it to a very small area. I am hoping it comes back but not 100% sure. It has always been a beautiful tree, blooms are magnificent on it every year. Fingers crossed it comes back. I thank you for your help.