I know that American Sycamores have exfoliating bark, but seriously is this normal? There is a cluster of four trees within a 500 sq. foot area. Only one sycamore is doing this. We are having horrible squirrel problems with them stripping off the bark, but I'm not so sure that is what is happening here. Almost looks like when trees get struck by lightening and it blows the bark off, but there is no evidence of that on the tree. It is occurring on the undersides of the top branches, no lower limbs are doing this. Weird. Any thoughts? Here are some pictures. I did read online about Sycamore showers that have to do with freezing in winter. I would think that it would not just be isolated to one tree though.
Well do you know for sure it isn't squirrels or woodpeckers? If it isn't, then I'd definitely get a good arborist ('tree doctor', not landscaper) in to see it because it is kind of strange. There is a maple tree (Acer griseum) that routinely sheds wide bark pieces from the trunk, but they don't get that big and the pattern's different.
Thanks Rima, I'm not ruling out the squirrel factor. I think the tree is so tall that I can't get a close enough look to see if there are any gnawing marks like the others they have damaged. I thought it was weird looking too.
