i will stand corrected if i am wrong.. but most trees set the buds the fall prior ...

so you have 2 seasons for injury .. based on the history you provide

an early hard winter.. before the tree is hardened off for winter ... [like due to heavy fertilizing late in the season .... as one example]

or a hard frost or freeze after winter... that harms the buds before they get a chance to bloom ....

obviously you had such.. which i dont know.. since you lost the two branches ...

all you can do is hope that next year will be better ....

good luck

ken

Part of the top dying would be likely to be a blight rather than frost, which should affect most of the top.

The Tree sufferd a shock and cutting the branches was a good thing to do but you may not see any blossoms for awhile .Make sure you water frequently and protect the tree if you have a deep frost. Dont worry though eventually it will come back to normal.

If there has been a transition to different leaves with a different habit, with no flowers being seen you may have had sweet cherry rootstock sprouts grow up to overwhelm and replace a cultivar that was grafted on top. I often see this happening with Japanese flowering cherry trees here, even though the appearance of the scion and rootstock may be markedly different from one another at flowering time.

If that is the case with your tree the portion that died may have been the last bits of the scion finally being killed off by the competition from the rootstock sprouts.

Thanks for all the information all,appreciate it. allot of diferent opinions.
Bboy if what you say is the case, is there no future hope for this tree?

I will upload pics of the tree within the last 3 years.
Spring 2008
Spring 2009
May 2010

Here is a link that might be useful: Spring 2008

the link did not work for me

ken

thanks for the heads up Ken, hope this works

http://img156.imageshack.us/i/spring2008.jpg/ Spring 2008

http://img714.imageshack.us/i/spring2009.jpg/ Spring 2009

http://img121.imageshack.us/i/may2010.jpg/ May 2010

Link didn't work for me either.

I can definitely see how bboy's scenario could be true. As far as "hope for the tree", the tree is still alive. It is the rootstock that is alive, though, not the grafted part. If you wish for hope for the grafted part in this scenario, there is none. But pix would help for something other than a guess.

Dan

Based on the photos, I'd say bboy was correct. What you see in the current photo is all growth from the rootstock (below the graft). All the former, ornamental cherry growth is dead or has been removed. It will never flower similar to the first photo, although it should produce some sort of flowers. If you want a tree that resembles the appearance of the first photo (2008), you will need to remove and replace.

Yup. That's what happened. Grafted portion died & rootstock all that remains.

Dan

Thank You Dan and Gardengirl for your posts, so the Scion part of the tree died and all that remains is rootstock.
what a shame.
I suppose I should remove it.

instead of removal, i'm thinking i may re graft this tree - as the root stock is still very healthy.
would any type of flowering ornamental cherry attachment be suitable?