How to help my japanese maple?

[murdock716]

I have a Japanese maple in front of my house that has an area on the trunk that doesn't seem right... tree seems very healthy otherwise and is beautiful. The tree in question is the fuller one, on the left... one on the right has no noticeable issue.


About the "scar" and tree- it's on the SW side of the tree... starts three inches from the ground and is 7 inches in height. Trunk is 9" diameter, tree is about 7 feet tall. I'm not aware how old the tree is but I've owed the house for three years and it wasn't new then.

 

[95custmz]

Did you do the landscaping? My guess is, when the tree was a sapling it got scarred from a weed eater (when and if it was not surrounded by the mulch). The tree looks to be healthy, otherwise. I'm not sure there is much you can do about it, other than keeping an eye on it to ensure there is no bug intrusion or decay.

 

[Jed1124]

I have a Japanese maple in front of my house that has an area on the trunk that doesn't seem right... tree seems very healthy otherwise and is beautiful. The tree in question is the fuller one, on the left... one on the right has no noticeable issue.


About the "scar" and tree- it's on the SW side of the tree... starts three inches from the ground and is 7 inches in height. Trunk is 9" diameter, tree is about 7 feet tall. I'm not aware how old the tree is but I've owed the house for three years and it wasn't new then.

Rodents love to chew Jap Maples when the snow is deep. The wound seems to be compartmentalizing well. You could try some plastic tree wrap in the late fall and remove it each spring to discourage rodent chewing.

 

[BC WetCoast]

Depending on the time of year it was planted it may have been a mechanical scar inflicted by the planters. If it was planted in the spring when the sap is flowing and bark is week, it doesn't take much of a whack to knock some bark off (dont ask me how I know this). As stated above, it appears to be compartmentalizing well with good callous growth on the margins.

Don't let it get drought stressed - deep watering couple of times a week in the summer. Maybe some slow release fertilizer once a year.

 

[unclemoustache]

The tree was damaged, but is healing itself nicely. I wouldn't worry about it for now.

 

[ropensaddle]

Rodents love to chew Jap Maples when the snow is deep. The wound seems to be compartmentalizing well. You could try some plastic tree wrap in the late fall and remove it each spring to discourage rodent chewing.

I have a customer that had beavers eating her bark on her Japanese, set a trap no more beaver

 

[MzHopsing]

Is it just me, or are those trees planted WAY too close to that porch foundation?? I know there's hundreds of different types of Japanese maples, so I have no idea how big these trees will get, but still... it looks like they put it a few inches from that wall! That would make me extremely nervous.

 

[ropensaddle]

Is it just me, or are those trees planted WAY too close to that porch foundation?? I know there's hundreds of different types of Japanese maples, so I have no idea how big these trees will get, but still... it looks like they put it a few inches from that wall! That would make me extremely nervous.

Small trees but yes good catch

 

[BC WetCoast]

I think that variety of J maple will stay pretty small. I think they should have been out a bit. I'm not so worried about the porch, rather as the canopies fill out, they are going to have to be pruned to provide clearance and end up looking a little weird.