Bacterial Canker on Ornamental Cherry Tree

My weeping cherry tree has suffered a bacterial canker infection and was looking a sorry sight with shrivelled brown leaves and a horrible jelly like substance oozing from the affected branches. This is a very serious disease which can affect plums, peaches and cherries, including the ornamental varieties. If left untreated it can kill the tree. The only treatment is to cut out all infected wood right back to clean wood and burn all infected material. The cut ends of the branches should then be painted with a proprietary tree wound sealant to prevent re-infection.

I have done all this but I now need to make sure the tree does not become infected again. My reference books recommend spraying the foliage thoroughly with a copper based fungicide in mid-August, mid-September and mid-October. Hopefully once this is done the tree should be free of infection but I will be checking it regularly from now on.

We have had unusually cold and wet weather since April this year and late frosts in May which resulted in some frost damage to the tree. It is possible that these conditions have made the tree more susceptible to disease.