Pest battle with Cherry Tree — and how I won

I had a serious problem with fireblight bacterial disease affecting pears and apples on my Cherry Tree earlier this year. Caught it late and had to work hard to bring the plant back. The experience was frustrating but educational.

Now that it's healthy again I can fully appreciate long productive lifespan of decades with good management, which is remarkable. I've repositioned it in a sheltered south or west-facing garden wall as an espalier and improved my attention to thinning fruitlets in early summer to improve individual fruit size. fruitlet setting and development through summer was the proof that the plant had fully recovered — genuinely beautiful. Moral of the story: inspect regularly and catch problems early.