Is this tree rescuable?

[shockedballoon]

Flowering cherry of some sort. Big tree which overpowers the back of our garden, but still looks kind of rangey & threadbare and blossom was a bit underwhelming in spring. Was thinking of having it pollarded but on closer inspection today it's got some form of hard sap oozing and the bark looks a bit weird. I know next to nowt about trees - anyone got any advice?

Some pics

Could it be canker (cherry tree gummosis)?

I'm sure some experts will be along.

www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/cherry/cherry-tree-leaking-sap.htm

Here's another pic. Does it look cankerish? Is it beyond saving?

Why did you take such a large branch off? Was that done in spring?

Don't know if it is canker (but it looks like it might be ), but if you are wanting to pollard it, you'll need to do it soon as cherry trees need to be pruned while the sap is rising. You'll also lose the blossom next spring - but sometimes you need to think longer term.

That looks like quite a big, old tree so it may just be reaching the end of its natural lifespan. I don’t think they’re very long lived trees.

We didn't do the previous pruning - only moved in last September. Not had a garden before so this is all exciting new territory (with a whole set of less exciting new expenses!) I would like to pollard it with the hope of 'resetting' it but if it's not going to work/ it's dying anyway I'd 'd rather get rid in one go rather than have 2 separate sets of expense.

If you can get a recommendation for a good tree surgeon (they vary a lot in quality ), they should be able to advise you when doing a quote. The trustworthy ones would tell you whether the tree is salvageable.

You cannot pollard a mature tree where it has not previously been managed as a pollard. You are referring to reduction however this will not give it a new lease of life. It will reduce its ability to make energy and will cause it to dedicate resources to wound closure. While this is occurring, it will be more vulnerable to pests and disease.
Also, pruning cherries during spring is pretty much the worst thing you can do to them. First, they are much more likely to piss out sap, second they are vulnerable to silver leaf disease during this time.

If you want to do something beneficial then leave it alone. If you can't help yourself, or if you insist on giving money to a man who insists your tree needs pruning (wants to prune it so you give him money), remove deadwood, damaged and diseased branches only, in late summer.

Flowering cherries don't respond well to hard pruning, as someone knowledgeable has said upthread.
They never regain a decent shape and will 'bleed' sap a lot.

They are not very long lived trees in the scheme of things so I wouldn't invest any time or money in it. It will make lovely logs.
And you can replace it with something just right for you.

I think you need to get to know the tree and the garden for a couple of years before making any hard decisions about getting rid of it or cutting branches.