Weeping Cherry Decline: Borers and Fertilizer

25-30 ft Japanese weeping cherry in Fletcher, NC: brittle branches, lopsided (1/3 bare), brown sap at trunk base. Asks about normality, filling out, fertilizer.

Diagnosis: Borer Attack

Brown sap at base = borer entry. Spray trunk with Merit insecticide (check nursery).

Stress Relief

Borers target stressed trees. Fertilize: 10-10-10 at 1 lb per inch trunk diameter, scattered and watered in. Now and late summer.