Looks serious. I doubt it has much of a future.

Gummosis of stone fruits has multiple possible causes. I have a Japanese flowering cherry that had gummosis once or twice, has since grown on to be currently approaching perhaps 40' tall.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cherry -- Gumming

Bboy, that's an encouraging link (unlike many of the things i've run across when searching under bacterial canker). It seems to imply there's hope for these trees if i cut away the hardened ooze and apply a "reliable disinfectant" (though i'm not sure exactly what that means - alcohol?).

On the other hand, my outbreak seems to be of the spontaneous variety because i'm careful about mechanical damage and i certainly haven't been overwatering this year (although i may have been guilty of that when first planted). That being the case, i don't know if i want to constantly wrestle with this issue and perhaps risk spread to my other healthy trees.

Since a good selection of fruit trees won't be back in the local nurseries till Spring, i suppose a logical start would be to treat the spots to the best of my ability and see where that takes me for now.

The "normal" ooze is is essentially clear.

With bacterial canker, a *very* common disease of stone fruits in this region, the ooze is colored.

Are branches dying back? If so, that indicates disease.

I'm sorry to say, Jean, yes, some branches are dying back.

It's such a heartbreak to loose a tree, but i think it's better i take care of this now rather than watch them decline over the next few years.

Stone fruits are the most problematic here. Those who are less committed than passionate fruit hobbyists should probably just plant apple trees much of the time. Disease-resistant cultivars are nearly care-free on some sites, not even needing to be watered (once established).

If you have apple maggot or codling moth show up, then the situation would of course change.

Here is a link that might be useful: Extension Publishing and Printing -- Why Cherry Trees Die

I lost a cherry tree last fall from cankers. It took a few years during which I would cut infected branches out. In fact, last summer it had a large crop of cherries. I saved one tree by cutting early, this tree had a canker called Botryosphaeria (Botryosphaeria dothidea). These trees were planted in an area that did not have good soil or drainage. I have two cherry trees left in this area, but I have replanted all of my cherry trees in another location where the soil is better. I would not replace these trees where you have them now because stressed trees are more susceptible to this disease. Of course, you could change the composition of the soil and keep them properly watered.