Flowering cherry sick?

[werdnal]

OK, I know its not strictly a native, although they are so common they may as well be. We have a cherry, the bog standard pink type, but this year it is looking very poorly.

Its about 15 years old, around 15ft high and until this year usually a very attractive tree. Nothing in its environment has changed. This year it had very sparce blossom which only lasted a few days. Then the leaves started coming out, but only about a third of the branches have full leaf cover, another third has small leaves right on the tips, and the rest are completely bare. The tips of the bare branches are very brittle and snap off easily as if they are dead.

There are no obvious signs of fungus or scarring on the bark, no open weeping sap and what leaves there are look healthy.

We have a 2nd younger white flowered one planted on the other side of the garden and this one is totally fine, flowered normally and is 100% OK, but we are wondering if whatever has affected the first one might spread to this.

Just wondered if anyone can advise what it might be? Should we cut off the apparently "dead" branches and leave the rest, or wait and see what happens.

[Dorts]

Werdnal, Cherries are not good in drought conditions such as we have had this spring. It sounds as though your tree is under much stress.
Ornimental Cherries are also prone to attacks from a number of viruses, bacteria, fungi etc. and over recent years for reasons unclear, these are causing a greater degree of mortality on such trees.

If your tree is under such stress, there really is little you can do to save it and I would suggest you bite the bullet and plant something different that is not a Prunus or related.
Dorts.