Cherry plum vs Japanese flowering cherry

It is a short-lived tree with brittle wood, and it shares the diseases of stone fruit: brown rot (Monilia) causes shoot dieback after flowering and fruit rot, and shot-hole disease, powdery mildew and gumming are common. Cut infected, withered twigs back to healthy wood and clear away fallen diseased leaves. Aphids and winter moth caterpillars attack it regularly. The bark of young trees can split in cold, sunny winters, so protecting the trunk in the first years is worthwhile.

A short-lived tree that often declines after 15 to 25 years. In Central Europe the main trouble is blossom wilt and shoot dieback (Monilia): in wet springs the flowers brown and stay on the tree and shoot tips die, so cut back to healthy wood. Bacterial canker with gumming, shot hole and the cherry blackfly that curls the shoot tips are also common. Infections enter through wounds, so prune only when you must, and then in dry summer weather. The shallow roots can surface in lawns and in time lift nearby paving, so do not plant it right beside a path or terrace. It is grafted: remove any shoots that come from the rootstock (at the base, or from the stem of weeping forms) cleanly at their origin. The thin bark is easily damaged, so protect it from the strimmer.