Question
The leaves on my cherry blossom tree just died within a matter of weeks.  The did not fall off of the tree the died on the tree.  It bloomed beautifully in Spring and looked fine up until this.  I did notice some strange reddish looking bugs on it.  I live in VA.

Any thoughts?  Does this mean I cannot save the tree?

Answer
Sounds like a blight disease. If you take you finger nail or a small knife and scrape a small bit of the bark off a branch and it is green under the bark at that point on the branch the tree is still alive. IF you find brown or not green then the branch at that point is dead. If you find brown go lower down on the branch until you find green--if no green is found then the branch is dead. Try other limbs until you find green If you find green I would prune off any dead branches, fertilize, mulch and water.  But it sounds like the tree is dead. Sorry!

Brown rot blossom blight Brown rot is a blossom-infecting fungal disease. Infected flowers wilt and die. The brown blossoms remain attached to the twigs, becoming covered with a grayish-brown fungal growth during wet weather. Blossom or fruit infections may spread to twigs. Infected twigs develop sunken, elongate cankers with gumming at the margins. Leaves on girdled shoots turn brown and remain attached. Infected fruit initially show a small brown spot which rapidly enlarges. The fruit remains fairly firm and often becomes covered with gray-brown fungus. Fruit may dry and harden into mummies, which serve as a source of infection in the spring.  

IF the tree is still alive. Here are a few recommendations for managing this disease.

Select Non-chemical Management Options as Your First Choice!!

Avoid overhead watering.

Avoid wounding fruit during harvest.

Control insects that cause wounds and provide infection sites for the fungus.

Prune out infected twigs in late spring or summer. Do not wait until the dormant season, when infected twigs are difficult to distinguish.

Remove mummified fruit in the tree or under the tree to reduce spread of disease.

Space plantings and prune to provide good air circulation. This will reduce moist conditions which favor disease development.

Apply fungicides just before blossoms open. Make additional applications at full bloom, and when most or all of the blossom petals have fallen. Do not use sulfur products during bloom west of the Cascades. Do not apply copper fungicides after full bloom.
If you choose to use a pesticide, some examples of products that are legal in the US are listed below.

Always read and follow all label directions.


Bonide Fung-onil Lawn & Garden Disease Control R-T-S
Bonide Fung-onil Multi-Purpose Fungicide Conc
Bonide Infuse Systemic Disease Control
Cooke Kop-R-Spray Conc
ferti-lome Dusting Sulfur
ferti-lome Halt Systemic Fungicide
Hi-Yield Dusting Wettable Sulfur
Lilly Miller Kop-R-Spray Conc
Monterey Liqui-Cop Copper Fungicidal Garden Spray
Ortho Multi-Purpose Fungicide Daconil 2787 Conc
Spectracide IMMUNOX Multi-Purpose Fungicide Spray Conc
This list may not include all products registered for this use.