Ants & Cherry Trees

[weimedog]

I've got aprox. I mile of hedge row full of large old knarly cherry tree's. They are mixed with locust & poplar & birch. Many of the cherry's are dying showing dead limbs along with the good ones. Most are in the 2-3 ft diameter at the base and are 40-50 ft tall (by eye). I cut a couple down to use them for fire wood and clean the dead wood out of my hedge rows. ALL the cherry's I cut down had the center eaten out for the first 4-5ft of tree by these big black ants. These ants didn't apear to attack the other tree's in the hedgerow...just the cherry's. (The rest of the tree both dead and alive were solid and will make good firewood.)

Question is...can I save some of those other big old cherry's? Any way to cut down on that ant population on the rest of the hedgrow?

Thanks again for you advice.

[Guy Meilleur]

Sounds like the ants are living in hollows; they expand the cavities but not that much, so don't stress about eradicating them--they are not the enemy.

the locusts and birches may be outcompeting the cherries; not a lot you can do about that except to cut out the cherries as they decline.

If it was a while ago you could have cut out the more vigorous younger trees and the older ones may've lasted longer, but it sounds too late to make much difference now. If they're 2-3' dia they're getting "overmature" anyway, perhaps.

then again I'm from NC so what do I know about NY trees?

[DadF]

Trees are trees no matter where you go. I think you're on the right track Guy.