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Aw man, that looks pretty bad :(

Let's examine the trunk for signs of damage. That thing shriveled up fast.

Any herbicide use that might have killed it? I think my neighbor two over somehow managed to kill a forty plus foot tall Sugar Maple while killing weeds growing near and on it.

no heavy use of herbicides. In spring and early summer I trimmed a lot of dead branches including one 1-1/2" branch. I also thought I helped the tree because there was a previously trimmed branch near the trunk that wasn't cut back all the way and it was intersecting the main trunk and left a big indentation, but I doubt that did it. Plus all that pruning was months ago, I would think the tree would have shown signs eariler. Its probably a waiting game now, I was a very nice tree.

Should I cut this down and plant something else? Is it dead or will it recover next spring? It was rapid so I'm guessing its not dead??? the branches seem to have some live pulp in them.

ALL The leafs are actually all dried out and crispy now

i didnt know they were trees ... i always thought of them as shrubs ... but whether its a sand cherry or a plum.. no real difference ...

you said: In spring and early summer I trimmed a lot of dead branches including one 1-1/2" branch.

==>>> then i think you had severe winter damage ... and it somehow.. held on.. until the heat of summer.. and then gave up the ghost ...

it appears to be out in front of your castle ... and IMHO ... that is not really a spot for a 5 year effort to MAYBE save this thing ... even if it releafs... its going into fall .. severely weakened ... and probably will sucker from the low trunk or roots wildly.. in response ...

in my world of front of the house plantings.. time for it to go ...

ken

Lots of those around here do that. It has to be one of the millions of prunus pathogens out there, or possible winter damage in your case (not here in MD).

There's an office buidling that had a nice row of them out front (about a dozen trees) that has many 3 remaining now.