I have a productive royal Lee cherry that is around 6 years old in the ground. I live in a warm dry climate, but this past month we gave been having unusual almost daily rains. There was a cup pile of black jelly on the dirt at the rootstock base of the cherry tree. I cleaned it up and could not find borer holes. The bark looked normal except for maybe a 1/2 inch tiny crack. I think it maybe looked darker inside the crack. I don't live in an area where cherries are typically grown, the only other tree I know of is my healthy Minnie royal.
1. Does bacterial canker need another infected cherry to spread?
2. Could it still be a borer?
3. Will the problem correct itself when normal dry warm weather resumes?
4 Should I cut out the crack this summer?
5. Could this all be caused just because of rising spring sap levels and lots of water?