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Mon, Jun 18, 12 at 18:20
| I have some pine trees that are shedding large chunks of bark, as you can see in the attached photo. I've read in some places that this could be normal due to past drought followed by adequate rain, and the tree is probably OK as long as the foliage is lush. But I've read elsewhere that this could be a sign of lightening damage and could indicate that the tree is dying. Thoughts? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Mon, Jun 18, 12 at 18:25
| i cant focus too well on that pic. .. is the wood exposed.. rotting .. or healthy??? OMG!!!! is that the eave of the house ...???? how far is it from the house ... ken |
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| I'd have that sucker removed ASAP (even if it was perfectly healthy). Large pines within striking distance of my house would be bad enough, but large pines loosing large patches of bark hanging over my house would freak me out. |
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| Is that woodpecker damage I see on the barkless sections? |
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- Posted by MadDogMike (My Page) on Wed, Jun 20, 12 at 15:48
| That area is at least 40+ up the tree, so I can't tell the condition of the exposed wood. This pic was taken with my iPhone, so I'll try to take a better picture with my good camera and zoom lens. That is the eve of the neighbor's house. Guess I should call out a pro. |
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Wed, Jun 20, 12 at 22:29
| I'm thinking critters. Squirrels, woodpeckers, maybe even porcupines (Got those down there?), or some such physical abrasion. If this is so, not a big deal. +oM |
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| Doesn't look good. If it's close the house I'd take it down. Pines in the south don't lose bark like that and then bounce back...the tree will probably go into decline. |
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- Posted by MadDogMike (My Page) on Thu, Jun 21, 12 at 23:24
| Went back to the property to look at the trees again. The one in the pic is definitely dead. No pine needles on the branches, and I see what looks like sawdust around the base. The other two trees have some shed bark near them, but I don't see any bare wood on them, so the shed bark must have been replaced by new bark. Those trees have plenty of foliage / green needles, so I think they're healthy. Having a pro come out to take down the dead one. I'll have him look at the other two just to make sure. Thanks, |
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| The sawdust looking stuff is leftovers from larvas eating the wood. It does almost always look like that on pine timber that has been lying around for some time. It propably did not kill the tree though, they usually only eat already dead wood. The best way to see if a pine tree is healthy is if it has green needles. Yellow needeles is a very bad sign. Dead bark does not get replaced by new bark though, at least not fast. The wound closes up from the sides, but it takes a very long time on pine trees, longer than most other tree species. |
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