Winter flowering cherry seems to be dying - help!

[ladybirdsanchez]

I don't know if anyone here has knowledge about the diseases that cherry trees get and how to treat them, but my winter-flowering cherry, which produced loads of flowers over the winter, appears to now be dying.

Most of the branches are bare of leaves, only a few suckers seem to have them and what they have look diseased. This tree seemed healthy until very recently. Can it be saved? And, if so, what do I need to do? TIA

I had the same with mine last year, (first year since I moved to this house). I was really worried about it, it just seems to get its leaves really late but eventually came into full leaf and flowered fine this winter.

Have you had it long? What did it do in previous years?

Thanks @CatherinedeBourgh. We've had it 10 years. It flowers in the winter then gets leaves at some point over the spring, but I can't remember when.

DH thinks it's got a fungal infection, but you don't tend to treat those in the spring, so I think we'll just wait and see for now. I really don't want it to die though. It's always been really lovely and is one of the few things that flowers in the winter in our garden.

Mine is still not in full leaf, looking fairly straggly at the moment.

My prunus is struggling, and is a shadow of its former self.

the RHS website points to two causes of defoliation although there are others: leaf spot and leaf scorch.

My further research took me to a website that says this year's weather conditions have exacerbated the problem.

https://www.lawnstarter.com/blog/tree-care/cherry-tree-diseases-how-treat/#2-3-cherry-leaf-spot

Im going to find a local tree specialist to see if they can prune it as that apparently helps. It's a variety that has a wide branch span - I should have got a more compact variety that goes up rather than out, for the location where I planted it. Depending on what a tree specialist says, I may have to remove it and replace it with a different variety thats less prone to disease and more compact.

I think it's leaf spot @daisychain01. DH sprayed it this morning with an anti-fungal, so we'll see if that helps. I think maybe the wet winter and the clay soil we have in that area of the garden are to blame.

Good luck with the anti-fungal spray, I hope it takes effect quickly. I always feel sad when trees get sick.

i may try to source some anti-fungal spray as well, and hope it does the trick. 🤞

Make sure you clear up the dead leaves so the spores don’t take over winter. It’s happening to our cherry-dry weather followed by huge torrential downpours have been bad this year.