It looks like black gall to me but I'm not an arbor expert. I did see it on several trees at the Devonian Gardens when I was taking my MG. Prune back about 6" before the gall and make sure you sterilize your shears after each cut with alcohol.

Shauna

Here is a link that might be useful: black gall

Shelley its called Black Knot, ugly isn't it.

Hope this website can help you out.

Here is a link that might be useful: Black Knot of Prunus-- What are those black lumps on my trees?

Thanks, Sharon. Wrong name, right disease. Black Knot it is. And my link got misplaced somewhere in cyberspace. lol

Shauna

I've heard people call it black gall too, same nasty disease ;)

I must of been typing while you posted your message to Shelley. LOL

Hm...., my neighbour has something similar and wanted to know what it is, is it the same thing?
Konrad

{{gwi:758207}}

Yes it is Konrad. I had a branch on my Maytree last year, I pruned it off and burned it in the firepit, knock on wood, it hasn't come back.

Sharon

We have chokecherry trees around the acreage. The large one between the house and the garage has lots of these knots on it. One year I did diligently prune off all the affected branches and it did look great for a little while. Then more branches got it and the next spring you wouldn't know that I had even trimmed it the year before.

Our problem is that I do not have enough time to prune all the chokecherries in the bush just to keep one chokecherry close to the house disease free. So, here. we just live with it. There are no other kinds of bushes or trees in our yard that are also affected by it, just the chokecherries. The leaves in the summer basically hide all the affected branches. This disease does not affect the fruit and so, I still pick the berries in the summertime and make the chokecherry jelly that my DH so loves.

And yes, Konrad, that is also Black Knot.

Brenda

Thanks for clarification. I'm going to prune if I have time this weekend. If not it'll stay until later. I still have plants to get into the ground this weekend yet.

Brenda, have you ever made chokecherry syrup? We just love it on waffles or pancakes. It's a nice change.

Shelley

I make chokecherry syrup...yep...when the chokecherry jelly doesn't set.

My DH prefers corn syrup on waffles and pancakes. I like table syrup.

Brenda

I have this on my chokecherry also and did some research on it. From what I've read its best to prune it off in march/april when its dry and nothing has leafed out. The disease is caused by a fungus that spores in spring/wet conditions. If pruned now, or late april/may the open cuts on the tree will allow reinfection.

I would hold off on pruning until next year.

Shelley, you will want to prune it off. If you don't, eventually it will strangle the branch and kill it, so you might as well get rid of it before it spreads. I like to do some of my pruning on those really nice days in February or March, if the snow isn't too deep, and burn the branches right away. Naturally, weather doesn't always allow, but it's a good excuse to get outside when it does.
Connie

Thank you all!
This tree is very large, [out on the acreage] I would say a lovely specimen tree, [I'm jellous] and apperantly this black knot was there for many years and they never did anything to it. I will let him know what it is...thanks.
Konrad

Hi,

Which makes better jam (etc.): chokecherry or pin cherry? And is it true that you shouldn't plant a chokecherry near a prunus avium (sweetcherry), as chokercherry (p. virginiana) is the main host for x-disease - that it will spread to the sweetcherry easily?

Sand cherries by far make the best jelly. It tastes better than any jelly I have ever made from fruit.

Has anyone here tasted pincherry or chokecherry jelly?

I'm thinking of growing one of the two for jelly. If chokecherry, my concern is that it may die of x-disease and spread that to the sweetcherry tree i have.

I'm also concerned about growing pincherry on a site that only gets 6 hours sunlight and this only from the south (not east or west).

Not sure how your local pincherries set fruit, here I have many and produces hardly any cherries, I find they are also
very tiny, which makes it harder to make something out of it.
I wouldn't worry about chokecherry, just keep an eye on it, I find chokecherry a much better cherry then pin.

Konrad

Pincherries don't mind a bit shade, 6 hours of sunlight would be just fine.

The opinion of my humble tastebuds is that it's a wash between the two. HOwever: Chokecherry has larger clusters of berries. Picking a gallon of chokecherries is MUCH faster than a gallon of pin cherries.

And that berry scoop that Lee Valley sells works a treat on choke cherries.

Hi,

Well, I'd like to plant the chokecherry - a wild one and 'Garrington' (sic) - plant them 4' apart and form a colony of suckers.

Konrad:
How will I watch out - do you mean prune the infected branches? If it shows up, do I remove the chokecherries to protect the future of the sweetcherry?

Yes, just prune the infected branches.
Not sure how your area is regarding this disease, here I have lot's of chokecherries and never had this
problem.

Konrad