Leaves in bad shape - why?

Question: We purchased from Home Depot about 2-3 months ago .. looked healthy … then looked like bugs getting to it so I sprayed it with Sevin cuz ants were climbing onto it . don’t see ants anymore but many leaves in bad condition … very young tree only about 3/4 inch thick stalk or trunk.

responder: Answered by the Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC), University of Maryland Extension. For timely gardening information and tips, subscribe to our Maryland Grows blog and quarterly newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Replied July 21, 2023, 12:49 PM EDT
response: Hi,  We're assuming this is a type of cherry, possibly a fruiting cherry. The leaf damage appears to be from Japanese Beetle chewing which is common this time of year. Instead of using the Sevin, which if a fruiting cherry we would not advise, and further tend to recommend you avoid using Sevin since it is harmful to beneficial insects and pollinators, those you would need to visit your trees flowers eventually.  Japanese beetles can be picked off or tapped into a container of soapy water. If they are not visible during the day you can go out at night with a flash light. The link explains other tactics to use for management, just be cautious of using any horticultural oil when the temperatures are above 85 degrees as it can burn the foliage of the tree.  Ants tend to be attracted to honeydew secretions from other insects and are not the cause of leaf chewing and don't affect a trees health. Usually just a secondary pest that is seen from a different issue. You can examine the leaves for aphids which have been abundant this year and if so, blast them off with a strong spray from your hose. We recommend home fruit growers follow the VA Tech fruit guide [link on that page], which outlines what to spray and when for specific pests/diseases; it's a long document that is updated every year, and it can be keyword-searched, like for "cherry" to find the appropriate section.Regular treatments for specific chemicals as preventative measures are needed to increase the likelihood of a good-quality crop and a decent-size harvest.When to Spray Fruit Trees explains the typical terms used to describe bud development and progression as we enter the growing season; these are the timing benchmarks used instead of calendar dates since weather can vary from year to year, so sprays are based on plant growth stage instead since that is mainly what impacts their degree of vulnerability to infection or pest activity.You can explore our resources for those specific fruit trees (our content is grouped for related species, like apple and pear, peach and cherry, etc.) since there's a lot of ground to cover with susceptibilities to multiple pests and diseases. That will give you a better idea of what to apply when and for what problems you are dealing with.  We hope this helps with a better understanding of how to manage your fruit trees. Emily

responder: The Question Asker Replied July 21, 2023, 1:50 PM EDT
response: I’m so sorry - dummy me…. It’s NOT a fruit cherry but a Yoshino cherry tree. Would the same apply ? John On Jul 21, 2023, at 12:49 PM, Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:﻿

responder: Answered by the Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC), University of Maryland Extension. For timely gardening information and tips, subscribe to our Maryland Grows blog and quarterly newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Replied July 21, 2023, 3:02 PM EDT
response: Hello John,  Flowering and fruiting cherries are vulnerable to essentially the same group of insect pests and diseases, though those treated preventatively on a fruiting cherry don't necessarily need the same intervention on one just grown for flowers, since you're not trying to protect a harvest. Japanese Beetles are one type of scarab-family beetle that can chew leaves in this manner; others might only be active at night so you can examine the foliage after dark with a flashlight, though if none are found after a few checks, it's possible they have moved on. Leaves cannot heal from damage, so it might be hard to detect right away if damage is ongoing or actually halted. For now, no pesticide intervention is needed since even though the damage is an eyesore, it's not causing serious impacts to the tree's long-term health. More critical to its success and establishment is not over-watering the roots and not planting the tree too deeply. (If, after exploring that page, you think the trunk's root flare is too deep, you can still correct this in early autumn when it will stress the tree less to dig it up and replant at the proper depth.)  Ants are good predators to have in the yard/garden, and while they occasionally protect nuisance insects like aphids or tend to soft scale insects, they otherwise help prey upon insects that can feed on plants. Cherries have small glands at the base of their leaves called "extrafloral nectaries" (essentially they produce a nectar-like substance outside of an actual flower) that help attract predators like ants to help defend their foliage; sort of a payment-in-advance for services rendered as the ants wander about. For the future, you should not need to treat a tree for any ant presence, though if ants are abundant and have formed consistent feeding trails up into the canopy, that might suggest a pest like aphids or scale is present. If numerous enough and the ID of the pest confirmed, at that point a treatment could be considered (for those other insects, not the ants directly). That's not the case here, though, fortunately.  The twig with burnt-looking wilted browned leaves can be pruned off, as it's either broken or has an infection by a pathogen called Brown Rot. (We can't tell from the image, but it might just be broken.) Cherries can be regularly infected with this fungus, though some varieties seem to be more susceptible than others. Other conditions common to flowering cherries are presented on our flowering cherry diagnostic page. Keeping the trees in good health and vigor by not having them stay too wet and avoiding bark and root injuries is the best approach to having them live as long and productive a life as possible, so don't be too alarmed at the number of conditions listed there since all tree species can be affected by several pests or pathogens, but cherries are so widely planted that we needed to address their ailments in its own web page for simplicity.  Miri

responder: The Question Asker Replied July 21, 2023, 3:32 PM EDT
response: Thank you very much ! We just want it to grow and grow and grow . Your very kind to help John On Jul 21, 2023, at 3:02 PM, Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:﻿

responder: Answered by the Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC), University of Maryland Extension. For timely gardening information and tips, subscribe to our Maryland Grows blog and quarterly newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Replied July 21, 2023, 4:35 PM EDT
response: You're welcome!