All Prunus (cherries, plums, etc. ) are notably short-lived plants, and pathogens such as this canker process are a big part of the reason why. I personally don't think it reasonable to attempt to do battle with these pathogens, in that you are simply not going to win. Without going into any more detail, I'd start planning for something else.

BTW, I don't get here very often, so if you ask a followup question, I may not see it for weeks.

+oM

Thank you for your post.

My
biggest questions are – do I stand the risk of having my tart cherry trees
infected and is that seasonally related? How much time do I have before I
really raise the risk of infection spread? Can I cut/remove infected
portions of the trunk and hope that the infected trees self-heal? It
seems like I really need to discuss this with an individual that has had direct
hands-on experience with this sort of thing.

Presently the trees are still growing at a normal pace with fresh new growth. Leaf drop is present but not accelerating. We have had relatively dry weather with only occasional moderate rain this year in my area.

I can see from the counter on my web space that users of this forum have examined the pics. Please, if you can't specifically address my questions, perhaps you can suggest experts I might contact separately. Being in IL my extension referred me to arborists (perhaps I did not speak to the right person at the UI Extension). I've reached out to arborists, but most are into tree removal and wood chipping. Few seem to be really into the disease knowledge/treatment aspects (or perhaps my case is of no commercial interest).

Will start calling nurseries like Adams County and StarkBtos to see what I can learn.

Wolf,

How productive are your cherry trees? By year 5, all of them should be very productive. If not, the first thing comes to mind is a pollination issue. Sweet cherry does not cross pollinate with sour cherry. Most sour cherry are self fertile so your Mont. and Balaton should produce fine and well.

Bing is very difficult to grow outside the Pacific Northwest and certain microclimates in Michigan. You are in IL. It is not a good place to grow Bing. I do not think Black Tartarian cross-pollinates Bing, either. Rainer and Van cross pollinate Bing but Rainer is not for your climate. Van may be.

Re. diseases. Your trees probably have sustained injury from severe cold weather these past two winters. When trunks cracked, trees weakened, pathogens of canker which already exist, have moved it and done further damage. If your trees are healthy to begin with, they will try to heal but if canker gets worse, not sure how long the trees will last.

Cherry leave spot and cherry trees seem to go hand-in-hand. You needs to spray fungicide.

Beside canker, cherry leave spot, cracking and brown rot are other serious cherry issues. Oh, don't forget birds.

Sour cherry usually has fewer issues than sweet cherry.

I usually like to try to graft other varieties on the existing trees I don't like. However, the damages on your trees are quite low the trunks. I do not know if it's worth saving them. Cutting mature trees down that low to graft on is possible but I have not done so myself.

Growing cherry in zone 5a is iffy to begin with. Sweet cherry is even harder to grow.

I'd say the best fruit trees for you and your area are apples and pears. You can buy Bing and Rainer, from the market like most of us!!

eastmeetwest: Thank you for your advice. The tarts are very prolific but the sweets are disappointing in comparison. The info provided by Starkbros led me to believe that these trees would cross-pollinate but your knowledge seems more specific. This year, it was not really a pollination issue as flowering was not dense - likely due to bud blast.

Still trying to make up my mind, but will likely start to sharpen my chain. I've got my trees planted pretty closely together, and I'm starting to see a sort of 'June drop' develop on one of my tarts. We've had cooler weather here so that may be it, though removing the sweets would provide more sunlight as they are getting large and do cast some shadow.

I already grow apples and peaches. I'd be happy with just growing the tarts as they are enough work in themselves, especially when it comes to picking and pitting.

drew51: Is there a certain root stock these cultivars require for the canker resistance?

Bing and Black Tartarian are compatible for cross pollination. And tart cherries can serve as pollinators for sweet cherries as long as bloom times coincide.

Also 'disease resistance' should not be confused with disease immunity :-) Any species of prunus including any edible cherry can contract bacterial canker. The 'Pearl' series are rated as 'fair' to 'good' for disease resistance.

Wolf, I'm not sure? I don't think so. As stated resistant not immune. I have had good luck with the NY cultivars. Developed in a humid area, perfect for our conditions. A disease rating of fair to good is great for our area. As that is about as high a rating as you will get. Plus canker is so bad in the Midwest, canker resistant is just plain old common sense.

Gardengal,

Thanks for correction. I've a mental lapse and thought of plums (J. and E) and got it confused with cherry.

When a friend researched for a sweet cherry to cross pollinate her Bing, Black Tartarian did not come up but Stella did. She ended up buying a Stella in hope to cross pollinate her Bing. If that does not work, her Stella can still produce fruit.