Are those drip lines, one to each side of the plant? If so, have you checked to determine if the water is getting to the original rootball? If not, please do. I've found that early on, I need to hand water at the bases of each plant for a while until the roots grow into the surrounding soil a bit.

This has been a fun process for me because I've decided to downsize considerably in order to justify having a few nicer things in the small space. I'll be going from an 1,800 sq ft home with separate garage/workshop to a 530 sq ft apartment above a 500 sq ft garage/workshop. This is an experiment for me both in simple living as well as in designing a living space that will cost as little as possible to heat or maintain. I'm also a bachelor, so it's a bit easier making a tiny space work. This structure is also being built on the edge of an heirloom fruit orchard of mine (16 acres), and much of my time is spent outdoors. The apartment is a comprised of a main living space divided into three areas: a well-equipped little kitchen, a dining area, and a home office. There's also a separate bedroom with a large closet as well as a full bath. The workshop/garage is large enough to hold a pick-up truck, tractor, a laundry area, a workbench, and three large chest freezers for storage. My challenge has been to take a serious look at what I truly need and I'm willing to give up in order to make this space work. I've learned a lot about myself in the process. In particular, a piano is more important to me than a sofa! When guests come to visit, our time indoors will have to be spent around the dining table. This is a concession I decided to make in order to have space for an upright piano. I also had to give up having a big, comfortable leather club chair and ottoman for reading and relaxing. Instead, I opted to have an over-sized bed (California King), really comfortable dining room chairs and an ergonomic chair for my desk (Aeron). Having sized down so drastically though, I will own my home outright (and all of its contents.) It's also been designed to be so well-insulated and airtight that I'll have a monthly utility bill of around $195/mo that will cover all space heating, air conditioning, hot water, electricity and propane, including a gas range and a top of the line steam shower. My Scrimps have turned out to be what I've simply given up: *No formal living room *No sofa *No space for a comfortable leather chair *No guest room My Splurges are: *Kohler Unwind Luxury Steam Shower (with six shower heads) *Sun Valley Bronze architectural hardware *Custom made Cedar garage and entry doors *Custom made Cherry kitchen cabinetry *Custom made Cherry rolltop office desk *Custom made Cherry Shaker Panel bed and nightstands with storage drawers beneath *6 Cherry dining chairs & table by Gary Weeks & Co. *BlueStar LP gas range *Yamaha Avant Grand N2 piano *Lie-Nielsen Roubo workbench (in garage) *BR-111 Tiete Rosewood floors and staircase *Sorpetaler Triple-Glazed European windows (from Germany) *Farrow & Ball paint *Caesarstone countertops *Rohl faucets and apron kitchen sink *Fisher & Paykel refrigerator/freezer *Bosch dishwasher *Motawi tile for bathroom and kitchen backsplash *Jaga...

All of those idea-wood filler, etc. are of no value in this situation. Think about it: While you said you suspect chemical damage, the truth is, that's likely not the cause of the damage on your tree alex. So for the sake of this discussion, let's just settle that by admitting we don't know how that happened. So somehow, the tree was wounded. And "the tree" is a part of a genetic heritage stretching back for-at a minimum, I don't really know the full story of the origins of Prunus without research-hundreds of thousands of years. What has happened during that time is, animals have bitten, scraped, trampled, and otherwise damaged trees, wind has blown, ice has built up, and weather generally has been a factor this whole time. So the trees have largely, though not 100% perfected various means of dealing with all these damaging agents. They produce a variety of chemicals that have antibacterial and/or especially antifungal properties, they produce different types of cells, some of which start out as undifferentiated callus, which can become just about any type of cell the tree or shrub needs to repair itself. In fact, the entire model, called CODIT-Compartmentalization Of Decay In Trees explains this all much better than I'm going to do right now. Look that up or a guy named Alex Shigo-pretty much-with some tweaks-the background for modern tree biology. Anyway, main point is, with just a couple exceptions-pruning oaks in the growing season (I know-better yet, don't prune oaks during the growing season!) and some "liquid copper" preparations, which while I've never seen or used, I have heard good reports from sources I trust, including-apparently-the ability to prevent decay from setting in even when very large limbs or even co-dominant stems are removed. But for your deal, you can't really help the situation. It was a pretty bad scrape and it will take some time for the tree to lay enough new wood around that area but yeah, in time it could be alright. Cherries are not long-lived plants under the best of circumstances, but you could still easily get a nice little chunk of years out of it. +oM

Thank you! Well, both Albomarginatas and the Fire Island are still alive and looking perky. Fire Island has sprouted and unfurled one leaf and about to issue another. It still makes me want to cry that I lost what I did of both. But most of my garden is a success so far and these plants are still alive and fighting. I have hope.