dying plum?

[guntruck]

Hey fellas, a friend has a plum tree thats about 14 feet tall and its dying. He has no clue why but all the leaves are dry and withering up all out of the blue. Im not a tree guy so can maybe someone tell me what to look for or what i really should be asking to maybe save it?

Oh yeah its a purple leaf plum if it makes a difference.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Probibly cancke infections. Here in MKE, WI they only last 7-10 years. Look for areas with amber gum oozing out, the are bacterial infections that are nontreatable. And PLP is cheap to replace (well not a 14 footer)

 

[wyl]

Probibly cancke infections. Here in MKE, WI they only last 7-10 years. Look for areas with amber gum oozing out, the are bacterial infections that are nontreatable. And PLP is cheap to replace (well not a 14 footer)

I think my plum tree has the same type of infection. So, does this mean, I need to chop it down? Or will the infection pass after 7 to 10 years?

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I think my plum tree has the same type of infection. So, does this mean, I need to chop it down? Or will the infection pass after 7 to 10 years?

I'm in a different climate then you, here most genus Prunus do not last more then the afore said 7-10 years.

If you have a lot of weeping cankers, then you may need to plan on a replacement in the future.

I tell my clients that most showy flowering ornamentals are short term material, like a sofa in the dining room. Every so often they need to be replaced.

 

[Dadatwins]

Purple plum also have a lot of girdling root issues. Japenese beetle seem to like them also. For the root issue, look at the base and move some soil around to check for a girdling root. Possible post some pictures here and that might help figure out what is going also.