Walnut Seedling Pruning and Wild Cherry Gummosis

Question: 300 walnut seedlings (2–4 yr) deer-pruned to 3–6 leaders. Prune to one? Also, wild cherries on 2 acres had jelly-like gum on trunks last year. Is cherry safe to plant?

Answer

Walnuts: Let grow above deer browse height first, then select single leader in a few years. Extra foliage builds root system now.

Cherries: Gumming (gummosis) often from peachtree borer (low trunk, frass present) or canker diseases (higher up, sunken lesions). Borers attack stressed trees. Treat with Onyx/Merit if borers; reduce stress via fertilization. Old trees likely recover. Cherry is viable if managed.