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  Phil Voice June 13, 2008 at 12:58pm

  Hi Budd,
  
  Thanks for your question - I have embedded your photos directly into the post so we can all see them better.
  
  Indeed the tree is under some stress and the Ivy is certainly aggressive.
  
  However, looking at the Cherry I would say that it has likely to have seen the best of it's days regardless of the Ivy.
  
  Cherry trees get to a certain age and will literally give up the ghost! The Ivy just seems to be thriving on the anti competition.
  
  If you can remove the ivy entirely you may prolong the life of the tree and coupled with some selective pruning it is possible to stimulate some regrowth (although beware that Cherry trees bleed quite badly and are susceptible to fungal disease after pruning)
  
  Maybe someone else would like to interject with other thoughts.
  
  Phil
  

  

  

  
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  Kerrie John-The garden design Co June 13, 2008 at 9:17pm

  From my teaching and experience, ivy doesn't strangle trees, its a parasite only attaching to the surface of the bark, not invading it.
  
  Just pull, cut, yank off the ivy. Have a very old, big apple tree in my garden which is prone to ivy plague. Every two years just climb up and go mad pulling it off.
  
  Not a Prunus Serrula is it?
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  Richard Loader June 13, 2008 at 9:55pm

  It's a sad fact that Cherry trees are short lived (compared to Oak, Beech etc.) They often decline with attacks of bacterial cankers and the like - this can lead to the sparse foliage and the general miserable appearance of this specimen.
  As Kerrie says Ivy doesn't strangle trees but it certainly exploits weak trees as a support and can swamp a poorly one accelerating its demise. The weight and sail effect can cause branches to be lost in high winds - so Ivy is not a good thing in this case. It needs stripping off - looks like a major operation but worth it as the tree could go on for several years yet.
  Cheers
  Richard
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  Andrew Fereday June 14, 2008 at 9:41am

  Hmm, I would say that if you are going to clear the ivy off, don't forget to take the roots out of the ground around the tree. The competition from the ivy roots probably won't be helping the situation much. Give the tree a really good feed with a balanced fertiliser and a good mulch with as much well-rotted manure as you can get in - I would say that you'll need to clear at least 1m radius around the trunk of the tree to make feeding it worthwhile.
  
  I think that either way, it's not going to be an easy job for you.
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  Budd Margolis June 14, 2008 at 10:10am

  Thank you all for the great, sage advice! I will try to pursue this diligently.
  But your advice has been a real comfort! Cheers, Buddy
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  Budd Margolis June 27, 2008 at 9:26am

  Update: I cut a band of clear area near the base of the cherry tree. The ivy is turning brown and wilting. I do not have access to rip the roots out but might be able to spray something that would prevent the roots from restarting enw ivy? I will soon post some images.
  
  I need advice as to next steps. I will try to rip off the dead ivy in anotehr couple weeks. But should I prune the apparently dead branches (right side of images) and if so how? I am not a professional and do not want to cause more harm than good.
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  Budd Margolis June 27, 2008 at 10:16am

  Image from 10 AM
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  Kerrie John-The garden design Co June 27, 2008 at 5:44pm

  I am not a tree surgeon, but if it were my tree I would wait until it is domant, in the winter, to do any radical pruning. Could find that if it was carried out now, poor old cherry would find the stress too much.
  
  Contact a local professional tree surgeon and take advice, which is usually free.
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  Phil Voice June 6, 2009 at 8:18am

  How did this end up Budd?