Hi, I just noticed that the bark has split open like a 7 inch zipper on my two year old Katsura. A landscaper friend told me it could be from too much water last fall, followed by an unusually cold winter. Will it kill the tree?
Doesn't sound good, maybe it will send out branches below the split and above the graft if the split is in the main trunk. Lots of wet snow damage locally this winter, too, causing some of the crotches to split.
a split in the bark could be caused by freezing/thawing issues, not much you can do about it. Just make sure the tree has sufficient water and dont over fertlize can cause excessive top growth.
