Bulbs
Flower Basics
Flower Beds & Specialty Gardens
Flower Garden
Garden Furniture
Garden Gnomes
Garden Seeds
Garden Sheds
Garden Statues
Garden Tools & Supplies
Gardening Basics
Green & Organic
Groundcovers & Vines
Growing Annuals
Growing Basil
Growing Beans
Growing Berries
Growing Blueberries
Growing Cactus
Growing Corn
Growing Cotton
Growing Edibles
Growing Flowers
Growing Garlic
Growing Grapes
Growing Grass
Growing Herbs
Growing Jasmine
Growing Mint
Growing Mushrooms
Orchids
Growing Peanuts
Growing Perennials
Growing Plants
Growing Rosemary
Growing Roses
Growing Strawberries
Growing Sunflowers
Growing Thyme
Growing Tomatoes
Growing Tulips
Growing Vegetables
Herb Basics
Herb Garden
Indoor Growing
Landscaping Basics
Landscaping Patios
Landscaping Plants
Landscaping Shrubs
Landscaping Trees
Landscaping Walks & Pathways
Lawn Basics
Lawn Maintenance
Lawn Mowers
Lawn Ornaments
Lawn Planting
Lawn Tools
Outdoor Growing
Overall Landscape Planning
Pests, Weeds & Problems
Plant Basics
Rock Garden
Rose Garden
Shrubs
Soil
Specialty Gardens
Trees
Vegetable Garden
Yard Maintenance
What are Black Spots on Cherry Tree Leaves?
What are Black Spots on Cherry Tree Leaves?. Cherry trees that exhibit black spots on the leaves need a gardener's attention. Black spots indicate a serious health problem that could damage a harvest and weaken or even kill a crop of cherry trees. Assessing and treating the cause of black spots on the leaves is key to keeping cherry trees alive.
Cherry trees that exhibit black spots on the leaves need a gardener's attention. Black spots indicate a serious health problem that could damage a harvest and weaken or even kill a crop of cherry trees. Assessing and treating the cause of black spots on the leaves is key to keeping cherry trees alive.
Fungal and Bacterial Diseases
Black spots on the leaves of a cherry tree are caused by fungal diseases. Cherry leaf spot is one fungal disease that attacks cherry trees, leaving black spore spots on the leaves and eventually killing the leaves. Another disease that attacks cherry trees is bacterial spot. The bacteria form brown spots on the underside of cherry leaves that eventually turn black. Diagnosing the disease attacking the cherry tree helps gardeners treat it.
Effects
Cherry tree leaves with black spots on them eventually turn yellow or brown and fall off the tree as they die. This weakens the tree further, as leaf loss limits the amount of photosynthesis the tree can perform. Fungi and bacteria also enter the tree itself and destroy it. This can eliminate a harvest of cherries and will eventually kill the cherry tree unless the disease is treated.
Chemical Control
Chemical controls like pesticides and fungicides are available to help treat fungal and bacterial infections of cherry trees. Consult a gardening expert to determine which type of fungicide is most effective for an individual infection. Applying fungicides early in the growth stage of the fungus helps prevent spores from spreading to other trees or parts of the garden. Early spring applications of chemical controls limit the amount of damage diseases can do.
Cultural Controls
Cultural controls are effective at avoiding and reducing the damage done by diseases that cause black spots to appear on the leaves of cherry trees. Planting disease-resistant cultivars helps reduce the likelihood of disease problems. Irrigating the soil around cherry trees to prevent standing water lowers the risk of fungal diseases thriving in the soil. Pruning affected trees and removing leaves that have black spots on them help control the spread of the disease to other trees.
