Question
Hi - I think my tree is a Kwanzan cherry (??) Don't know. I live in MA.  Right now, at the base of the tree are multiple smallish piles. From a distance, the piles look like icy snow. Close up (still looks lice icy piles, but...) the substance is clearish and spongy, and possibly dripping from the larger branches. Is this sap? Is this normal? The tree has been here 5-6 years, and I've never noticed this before. The last 2-3 years it has been suffering from die-back after flowering, and I don't know if this is yet another symptom of something dreadful going on inside.  It's been pouring rain for 2 days, and the gunk has not melted/dissolved at all.  Help??   Thanks.  

Answer
There is a bacterial disease of cherries that causes the sap to ooze from the tree, but usually you would see some dark area on the trunk or limbs where the ooze would be coming from.  Get up close to the stuff and smell of it.  If it smells like whiskey or alcohol, then I would say a bacterium is the cause.  There is no cure for this disease.  The tree however, could live for years with this condition.  I would suggest pruning out any dead tips of branches right now.  You can tell if the tissue is alive by taking a knife and scraping the bark lightly.  If the tissue is white or light green underneath, then the tissue is alive.  If it is brown it is dead and should be removed back to where you find living tissue.

If this is not the case, then it just may be sap coming from the tree, but there still should be some evidence of a wound.  Lawn mowers, weed eaters and other implements operated to close to the tree may have wounded the trunk below or under the ooze.  Try removing some of it to be able to see the trunk.  Look for a wound under the ooze.

The tree can be treated with an antibiotic (streptomycin) sold as "Fire Blight Spray" by Fertilome.  Treat the tree when first buds and leaves are beginning to swell and young leaves have emerged.  You will need to retreat in about 10 days.  I can not guarantee this will fix the problem, but may prolong the life of the tree.  If none of this sounds reasonable, please respond back and we will go in another direction.  Good Luck.