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Please could you tell me why my dwarf cherry tree now has good foliage growing at the top branches but no foliage further down? Also it is inside since mid December and seems to be much happier? Bill replies... His knowledge is encyclopedic. After training at the under the then Ministry of Agriculture, Bill spent over twenty years at the Department of Biological and Environmental Services at Lancaster University. Now, he's a regular course tutor at Alston Hall, Longridge and Lancaster Adult College.

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Inclusion of a product does not indicate a recommendation or endorsement by the RHS. It is a list of products currently available to the home gardener. Hi Bill I have a flowering dwarf cherry tree which lives in a pot. The leaves have holes and the plant is spindly. What shall I do? Bill replies... You have to balance the risk of waiting till the summer months to prune your Cherry Tree against one, or even both of the large limbs which are hanging over the road - breaking off and causing damage. There is a spring flowering cherry in the garden next door to us. It is over 25 foot high and is some 8 foot from the wall of our house. The roots have already caused the paving on our side path to lift. I am concerned about how it might affect or be affecting the foundations of our house. I would be grateful if you could say if it is likely to cause damage to the foundations. Bill replies...

It’s all to do with light. It does us humans good to be in the sunshine, and the same applies to fruit trees, in the sense that they need good light throughout. If the trees have been left to themselves and have produced masses of shoots all round, virtually a solid mass of growth that creates darkness inside the canopy of the tree, then the leaves are no longer able to carry out the functions they were designed for. Photosynthesis goes into survival mode: the little energy that the shaded leaves manage to produce is used simply to keep the structure alive. There is no energy left to create productive fruiting wood as a replacement for older non-productive branches. I have a very large flowering cherry tree - about 40ft high - which is to be thinned and have the crown lifted. I have two opinions on silver leaf fungus disease; 1 tree surgeon says to wait until June, the other says any time is OK. What is your view? Bill replies... I have a two year old cherry tree which is pinned to my garage wall. The first year the tree fruited and looked healthy. This year the branches dont have any leaves until about half way up and any leaves that have appeared are badly damaged or eaten, also there has been no fruit. What is wrong with it and why is it dying? Bill replies...

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If after 3 or 4 years you can throw your hat through the trees without the hat getting hooked up anywhere you will have done a great job. The old fruit tree will start a new lease in life and will thank you for it by producing wonderful fruits. I have got a flowering cherry tree which over the last few years has given plenty of flowers. This year there are only a few buds, on looking in the soil I have found the roots have got white fungus on them. The area it is planted in gets flooded when we get heavy rain and takes a long time to dry out. Could you tell me what I can do, and if I need to dig it out and could I plant another one? Bill replies... If it turns out that the tree is cropping well, restrict the pruning to cutting out dead wood and crossing branches in the first year. The next year do a little more and improve the light entrance into the centre of the tree. Without good light the fruit tree is unable to make good fruit bud. I have planted my cherry tree last June, and this year it started to flower. I want to know what find of feed should I use for it to grow healthy and how many times should I feed it during the season? Bill replies...

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For three decades, Bill has travelled the county with fellow judges as a regional judge for North West in Bloom.

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It could be that your Dwarf Cherry is suffering from Shot Hole Disease Tabitha which is a fungal disease and causes brown spots to appear on the leaves - which then turn into small holes. It could also be caused by one of the winter caterpillars which have been troublesome this year, but of the two the symptoms suggest Shot Hole Disease - which quite frequently happens during a very hot/dry period. Regarding treatment you will need to build up your Dwarf Cherry by feeding with a balanced base fertiliser - this needs to be carried out early spring time and also during the summer. Regarding your Dwarf Cherry looking spindly it could be shortage of nutrients and also growing in a shaded spot. Acer(maple): Prune Japanese maples ( A. palmatum and A. japonicum) after leaf fall but before January; prune snakebark maples (e.g. A. davidii, A. pensylvanicum, A. rufinerve) in late summer. Often we hear the comment, “I have an old pear tree and an apple tree, but neither seem to do any good.” Let’s compare a tree to ourselves. If we don’t take care of ourselves and never go outside if and when we can, we gradually accumulate all sorts of problems too. You may say, what has that got to do with my fruit trees? Surely they are outside all the time? I would like to repot my cherry trees colt celest in bigger pots, is now the best time? What is the best compost to use? I live in the Channel Islands and the trees face south east, is this a good place for the trees? Bill replies... Cherry Trees come in all shapes and sizes Pam and quite a number of the larger species are very vigorous and the roots which are surface rooting, can be very troublesome if planted near a lawn. A lot will depend on what variety your Cherry Tree is. You mention your tree is conical shaped which suggests that it could be one of the dwarfer varieties and be far less troublesome. If you are still worried you could actually plant your Cherry Tree into a large container to offset this root problem.

I have a 20 foot high mature white cherry tree with two large limbs growing over the road. Can I take these off now? I believe that mature cherry trees can only be pruned in mid summer. Bill replies... Your dwarf Cherry Tree Tabitha is a deciduous tree and if left outside will produce new leaves in the Springtime but by bringing your Cherry Tree indoors you have 'forced' your tree to come into leaf early and you will now need to keep your tree in a very light but cool position to avoid the shoots becoming drawn and etiolated and in the Spring - weather conditions permitting - placing your tree outside again. I have a fruiting cherry tree and a plum tree. I would like to keep them in a 5 LT plastic pot for now, so what is the best soil to plant them in? Bill replies...

Radical pruning for restoring old trees - Suffolk Fruit and Radical pruning for restoring old trees - Suffolk Fruit and

You would Jobie be far better using a soil base compost such as John Innes No 2 or, you could use a mixture of a multi purpose compost and John Innes compost. It is important that until your trees get established to keep an eye on the watering and you will also need to feed occasionally throughout the summer months with a liquid fertiliser. If you intend to plant your trees out in the garden you would be far better doing this late autumn when the soil is still warm and the trees are dormant. I personally, would not take the risk of waiting until the summer months and have the limbs removed as soon as possible. To avoid infection from silver leaf, I would paint the cut limbs with a bitumin sealant which, can be obtained from any Garden Centre or DIY Store.I have been noticing many cherry trees dropping their leaves early this year. Can this be due purely to the weather as on closer inspection all the buds are healthy. The leaves are yellowing between the leaf veins and also curling so their edges meet. They also seem to be abcising well. It just seems like premature autumn behaviour. What are your views? Bill replies... I have a small cherry tree which I planted last year. I am re-designing my garden and would like to move the cherry tree, am I able to do this without killing it if so what is the best time of year to do this? Bill replies...