Question
Dear Jim,

We have a weeping cherry approx. 10yrs old in our garden, (south of Birmingham Alabama) which is oozing a black tarlike substance from its trunk. Please could you advise us what to do?

I have a picture I could send.

Thanks,

Patty

P.S. I have another question. If this tree is dying and we decide to have it removed with the stump ground up, could we plant another tree directly in the same place? If so what would we have to do to cultivate the soil before planting another?

Thank you again.

Answer
Sounds like a 'disease" called Slime flux or borers. The presence of sap does mean that the bark has been cut/penetrated in some way.

Slime flux on cherries is not very common - not impossible, just uncommon. And the difference between slime flux (oozing out and dripping, sometimes sudsy, foul-smelling) and sap (thicker, doesn't run down like water) is usually easy to spot. Slime flux isn't usually too harmful, just rather dramatic-looking.

If it is sap and your cherry has borers, likely the best resort is to deep-root fertilize. The presence of borers in a cherry usually means that the tree is stressed and weakened for some other reason. I'd look for girdling roots and/or drought stress. Old cherries often have some heartwood decay, too.

If it is borers i would spray the trunk with a insecticide called merit. This will kill the insect in the tree. There is no spray fro the slime flux but the good news if the tree is kept healthy the tree will out grow the flux. Wait until spring and see if the tree leafs out and to what extent.  If you have a good set of foliage then I would fertilize the tree with 10-10-10 at the rate of 1 lb per inch of trunk diameter scattered around the tree and watered in good. fertilize this spring , in mid summer and again in the fall. Even if the foliage is not full this spring I would go ahead and spray fro borers and fertilize.
No if the tree dies there is nothing that needs to be done to the soil. Just replant.

If you are not sure I would call the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service and ask if  a horticulturist/forester  that could come take a look.
Their offices for that area is the  C. Beaty Hanna Horticulture & Environmental Center. The web link for this office is http://www.aces.edu/directory/officeResults.php?pun=4105