Q: We have a Yoshino cherry tree that has done very well for years, but last year we noticed it developing leaf spots and dropping leaves early. Now the trunk is losing bark and producing a fibrous “growth”. Is it treatable at this point? We’d love to save it.

A: Remember the Monty Python scene where a knight has lost both of his arms and legs but continues to threaten his attacker with bodily harm?

Your tree has struggled mightily against the forces of nature but it has lost too much bark to recover.

Remove it and replace it with a redbud, Japanese maple, crabapple, kousa dogwood or another flowering cherry.