Question

cherry tree problem  

dogwood pest/boarer   Hi Im sooo upset that there is a pest that just about killed and now another tree about 25 ft away is exibiting simular issues the first tree a 5 ft dogwood was a little stressed by a few nicks in the bark and had gotten what seemd to some type of tree boarer in it and is barly holing on it had D shaped holes in the bark and it was peeling off in 2 seperate spots and the trunk feels like dead wood but still has leaves ,some 25 ft away this march planted a cherry tree was doing great til a few day ago notice sme minor bark peeling and a slit in the bark there also is knot just above the slit that has dried clear sap looks like ,theat oozed out .I put bayre tree and shrub care that is systemic for bugs and boarers but a week befor I put bio tone in the soil i was told that helps with newly tranplanted trees..im hoping this bayre systemic stuff helps is there any more i can do to save this cherry tree the dogwood ive done all i can im guessing PLEASE HELP >>an aborist told me about the biotone and bayre but didnt ask about the cherry since i didnt notice it til days later,  linda

Answer
These both look like borer but I would think they are two different insect since the borers attacking dogwood are different from the ones attacking cherry. The Bayer product will be a season long control. But it does take a couple of weeks for the insecticide to be picked up by the root  and taken to the trunk and branches. I would go ahead d and spray the infected area of the trunks with an insecticide called merit. this will control the insects under the bark and allow the Bayer product to prevent others from infesting. I thin the advice you have gotten was good. The biotone is a fertilizer and this will help the overall health of the tree. Borers will attack trees under stress the fertilizer will off set any stress. I would keep the trees watered if it does not rain. Water with 1 inch of water--place a pan under the tree and turn the sprinkler on and when the pan has 1 inch of water in it stop. Do this once a week if it does not rain. This will keep down stress during the hot summer.