Last year, I purchased a ‘Jordan’ Japanese Maple from a local nursery. The tree did great all year (in fact it did better than all of my maples). However, last fall I noticed a weird growth or callousing of its trunk and branches. I was hoping that someone could help me identify the issue. Attached are several pictures of this growth (or what appears to be a growth). The affected areas have some spots that are flakey - when rubbed, it just shows more of the whitish/tan color, but a tad darker. Other than this, the tree appears to be very healthy and has already started to leaf out. I don’t see any holes or sawdust from worms or borers, but some of the markings look like a trail. It also doesn’t appear to be lichen or scales. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Good morning @Colby and welcome to the forum. I know you haven't found any sawdust etc, but I believe you have a borer problem. Yes maple bark does change with age, but photo 4 does IMO show the larvae on the move. D
I hope you’re wrong. Did you happen to look at the picture of what the tree looks like when I scrape off the callous? Also, are borers here in Central Valley California? I thought they were more common on the East Coast.
Yes I did see the other photo, but IMO I believe your maple is suffering from borers. I'm not sure about your location re attacks, perhaps someone else on the forum that is more local to you can help in that respect. D
Yes, I've never seen anything like that on my trees, nor heard of people around that encountered such a problem. Very strange. A local species of insect ?... There are lots of snails in my garden after the rain, small ones, bigger ones, I often find some on the trunks of my trees but I've never noticed damage like that. The bright side is that when you scratch the grey part, there's some green under it, so apparently the cambium is not at jeopardy.
