We have a 6 year old JM in the front of our house - south facing - in southern Ontario it has grown well since we planted it but we have noticed this spring that the bark in the main trunk is shedding a lot - the tree otherwise seems fine. I have attached some pictures to help. Does anyone have suggestions on what to do? I understand that maples do this sometimes but I’m concerned about how much has shed - thanks
Hi @David K, it does not look good tbh. IMO you have had what is called as tight bark at some time early on in the tree's rapid growth, often caused by lack of water during growing season in a hot spell. The bark splits unnoticed by the owner. The real problem occurs when water is trapped inside for a long period. At this moment in time the photos appear to show that the damage has not gone all the way round so the tree is clinging onto life and starting to leaf out. So the phloem (inner bark) is still able to transport some nutrients up the tree I'm afraid IMO it is a wait and see scenario, some trees do survive, but I do not like the look of the cambium ( cell layer), although it may well be trying to form new bark. So sorry I cannot be the bearer of good tidings, but this is only IMO from my personal experience with this on a couple of my trees. One survived and one didn't. Other people may have a different opinion on this thread Good luck
Hi @David K, I thought I would add a couple of photos of mine with the split bark, that did survive and start to heal itself. It is Acer palmatum 'Going green'. It's 25 years old and doing it's best to survive as they all do. The split in the bark did not go all the way round, if it had, I would have lost this tree. My point is, 'never give up on a tree' until it is very obvious by looking at the branches and lack of buds and eventually leaves that it is a lost cause. Acerholic
thanks very much is there anything I should do - should I leave the bark in place or cut away anything?
@David K, Hi David, I would remove any loose and damaged bark. That does not mean cutting into the tree at all, and do not cut into the healthy bark. You must not break the last join as this will cause the death of the tree. All you are doing is a tidying up the damaged area. Do not pull at it. I have removed bark in the photos I added with a 'sharp knife', just enough to stop water being trapped and definitely not into the healthy bark. This is all you should with yours. Your tree is hanging on by a thread or bark IMO. It may or may not survive, but trees can surprise all of us at times, no matter how long we have been growing them. I do wish you all the luck, it is a very nice tree btw.
IMHO, removing the separated bark is not all that important. It will just flake off in time anyway, as new growth at the margins proceeds. Moreover, that bark will 'hang' over a hollow space underneath. Simply poking at it with your fingers should open it up and you need do nothing more than flake off what you can with your fingers. Water and minerals go up in the wood (drawn by transpiration) and this is almost certain to be largely intact. Carbohydrates and auxin made by the leaves and buds is conducted down the tree toward the roots in the inner bark. This and the cambium that lies in between are what are missing under the 'tight bark' (i.e., there is nothing but the outer bark left). The tree will consequently die if there is not a continuous line of inner bark to the roots as the roots will not be stimulated to grow (by auxin) and will starve from the lack of carbohydrates. So, focus on whether the 'tight bark' girdles the trunk or not. Complete girdling = eventual death (roots starve) unless new shoots (suckering) occurs below. If so, you've could have a good beginning for a bonsai!!
@Osoyoung, that was my concern,that the last piece of bark would be damaged causing a complete break. I've just seen another post just come in with damaged bark and what looks like IMO a dying tree.
