Question
I am in Long Island,NY and have a few black cherry trees in my backyard. There is a strange growth on the leaves like a plant. Especially the new leaves are fully covered with it. Any clue as to what it is and hwo to get rid of it. Let me know if you need photos.

Answer
I will need a picture of the growth on the leaves to ID this. You can either attach it to the question or e-mail pictures to jimhyland @yahoo.com and put Allexpert question in the subject line.

Thanks for the pictures they helped in IDing the problem


These are Cherry pouch galls
Cherry Pouch Galls
A mite forms cherry pouch galls, fingerlike projections on top of cherry tree leaves. These numerous galls usually grow in spring as the leaves grow. Their presence is a sign of mites feeding and breeding. Anyone looking at cherry leaves during the summer might notice them. They don't occur on all cherry trees, but they are abundant when present. They drop with the leaves, and the tree appears to have never been visited by these gall makers.

Galls are abnormal growths that plant tissue develops in response to insect feeding, saliva, or egg-laying. They are rarely harmful, and should be seen as biological curiosities. The mites lay eggs on the leaves and secrete a chemical that causes the leaf cells to expand over the eggs. Eggs hatch and the young feed inside the pouch. These types of damage are more aesthetically objectionable than detrimental to overall plant health and vigor. Nurseries control these on small plants they ares selling but on larger plants in yards most are not treated. To use a spray one would need to treat the adults before they lay the eggs and this is a narrow window. You could use a soil applied systemic insecticide that the plant roots pick up and take to the leaves protecting them from attack. But this is a one time occurrence per year and chances are next year there will be bo signs of the galls. Since they do not harm the tree except make small spots on the leaf I would just enjoy them as a unusual occurrence.