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| Hello,
I just moved into a new house in Wylie, Texas and we have this pretty young tree in the back yard. Today I looked at it more closely though and saw that the bark facing away from the house is all cracked and peeling. I also saw a couple small black ants on the tree but looked closely and didn't see more than 2-3 ants. It looks healthy otherwise with green leaves. I'm worried this might eventually kill the tree and would like to find the cause so I can try to fix it. I was wondering if it might be due to under-watering or might be the ants eating it? Thanks for any help. Shannon |
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Thu, Aug 2, 12 at 21:14
| Shannon, I'm seeing what I believe to be the vestigial remains of one or two branches that got removed at some point, within the zone of cracking bark. This might indicate that these branches came off in a ragged fashion such that the branch collar was torn into or otherwise disturbed. This often does result in such wounding, which is serious. What to do....? Not much really. Give the tree what it needs, primarily soil that doesn't get baked dry. Also, I'm a bit curious about planting depth; Can you see the root flare at the base of the tree? That's the zone of swelling where trunk meets root system, and should always be just visible at grade level. A too-deep planting can also set the stage for trunk and bark anomalies. +oM |
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| Probably sunscald. The damage was definitely not caused by ants. |
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| Because it's hotter than he@l and those hybrid maples really are no good in north Texas. They just don't go along with the water conservation movement here. I would think about replacing it with a more durable tree in the Fall. |
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Thu, Aug 2, 12 at 22:19
| Oh I agree with the points made by both gentlemen above, but as far as sun scald, it seems at least plausible to me that this too is related to wounding processes. For one bit of evidence, consider the way sugar maple comes up en masse in so many forest understorys. Sure, many are shaded but not all. And these few that begin their lives in pretty much full sun also pretty much never have "sun scald". No big argument Brandon-I know we're on the same page nearly always, but that particular syndrome is one which I believe we haven't fully come to grips with yet. And funny how we keep seeing what I at least consider northern maple species in Texas. That just can't be the best choice! +oM |
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| Sunscald can go hand-in-hand with branch removal, and with root system compromise. Foliage removal and vascular disruption can be catalysts for sunscald. |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Fri, Aug 3, 12 at 8:27
| hey! since you just moved in.. i am going to talk about the prior owner.. and you should take none of it personally ... looking at the first pic.. i see nearly no landscape ... and i am going to bet.. they bought a rather large transplant.. from the bigboxstore.. a few years back.. planted it [i too wonder if it is telephone poled .. no root flare at the ground] ..... i am going to guess ... it was pot bound.. and they did little than dig a hole and stick it in .. and water it at planting .. i am further going to guess ... that they did little if no PROPER followup in regard to PROPER WATERING .... for the 2 or 3 years a large transplant would require ... plus throw in drought if any over that period ... all that resulting in lack of proper moisture.. thru the ensuing few years ... resulting in sunscald.. on the south facing side of the tree ... and if all the above were true.. improper pruning leading to.. or complicating more bark damage ... there!! .. that is just about everything i can think of.. as to what might have caused the problem ... BTW.. ants DO not harm an otherwise healthy tree ... at worst they mess with other bugs.. 'milking' aphids of honeydew' e.g. ... and for sure.. a couple means nothing.. they are just surveying their domain ... what can you do??? .. not much.. trees heal themselves.. if you can restore vigor thru proper watering.. "feeding" it.. will not make a difference.. it is not a child ... besides the fact that the rather weed free lawn tells me.. it is probably fertilized ... so the tree needs nothing else ... if vigor were to return.. it can heal itself thru compartmentalization .... [thats my long word for the day ... lol ..] but if the tree is not proper for your area.. as noted above.. whats the point ... be done with it ... cut it to the ground.. do your research for something new.. and plant it a few feet off to the side ... unless you really want to find out what is going on underground.. simply for the sake of knowledge ... then dig it up.. so you can replant in the same hole ... good luck with your new house ... presumably.. you redid the interior to your taste.. so lets redo this tree.. to your taste.. rather than spending the next decade.. 'dealing' with it.. ken
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- Posted by strobiculate none (My Page) on Fri, Aug 3, 12 at 11:03
| Good pics. That's the good news. The root flare in this case makes no difference. The causes of suscald...when you hear hoofbeats...in this case think longhorns rather than albino bison. Or whatever else is the most common hooved quadreped in your locale. And in this case, disregard all other comments. See those two little holes you so kindly provided nice pics of? And that irregular shaped depressed area in the wood? Any one want to tell me why I don't care about a root flare? |
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| Wow, thanks for all of your thoughts. I was surprised to see this maple tree in a Wylie, Texas backyard and I guess there's a reason this isn't a common tree in the area. I guess I'll see if I can convince my husband to replace it and if not try to baby it with lots of water as it seems like we're always in a drought here. We're already going to have to replace the Bradford pear tree in the front yard that's very top heavy and is barely holding on with the stake and rope holding it from blowing over. Add it to the to do list! Shannon |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Fri, Aug 3, 12 at 11:47
| yeah.. i saw what might be borer holes ... chicken/egg thing as far as i am concerned ... just get rid of it.. if there is no budget.. for replacement.. so be it.. just get rid of it.. so you can start to forget about it ... ken |
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| Borer damage is common in stressed trees. Borers did NOT cause the bark damage we see in the pictures. |
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| BTW.. ants DO not harm an otherwise healthy tree ... at worst they mess with other bugs.. 'milking' aphids of honeydew' e.g. ... and for sure.. a couple means nothing.. they are just surveying their domain ... Not true, I had a declining lilac tree and for the life of me I couldn't figure it out. I thought maybe all these ants running along the trunk had something to do with it. Finally I decided to pull all the mulch back and low and behold I see millions of ants that burrowed throughout the roots system. It bascially causes air pockets and the roots dry out. So the ants don't necessarily harm trees directly but they do things that can hurt the tree. The end... |
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