Sorry Mavis, need much more info - any sign of pest or disease on the leaves, stems branches or trunk? Are the leaves healthy? If not, what symptoms do they display? Did it blossom this year, and did that blossom wither and remain on the tree? Plus anything else you can think of that you can observe or gather.

It did have healthy blossom but very little fruit,nearly all the leaves are brown but not falling some of the very topmost leaves are showing green,nothing to see on the trunk or below the tree, cant see any thing on the leaves or branche'.The blossom did fall grass around the tree is healthy, hope this help's thankyou.

Need photos really - at the moment, could be fireblight, or something simple like serious drought earlier in the year - cherries are surface rooting, so long, hot dry spells can cause trouble. But it does sound as if its something more serious, as the new growth is only showing at the top of the tree - were it drought, I'd have expected new growth along, or at the ends of, the lower branches in places too.

I have been given a piece so I will get a photo to show you, there was no fruit, other tree's around and about are not affected.I will post a photo as soon as possible my son will be home later today and he will take it thank's again.

Need to see the whole tree too, or a good part of it, Mavis.

Three pictures, hope they help?

1. http://www.imagebam.com/image/5d80e1145151609

2. http://www.imagebam.com/image/913038145151661

3. http://www.imagebam.com/image/9fa84d145151696

I don't know what's the matter with my browser, but it can't find any of the photographs, despite my copying and pasting the addresses...

How about these ones?

http://img806.imageshack.us/img806/2610/20110815135854.jpg

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/6/20110815135130.jpg

The 3rd image was too large to upload to this one, hopefully won't be needed.

Mavis you need to add the photos to your question, having made them considerably smaller! Trying to load the third image actually crashed my computer. I suspect that the cherry tree is not dying it is dead!

Thank's Moongrower I will get my son to redo the blog and add the photo's like you say, sorry about your computer crashing.

I've added pictures to the current blog, they are smaller now and should work okay.

Soon to be an ex tree, whatever the cause, I'd say. Could be fireblight, could be previously undetected Blossom Wilt.