Nantucket
New Member
Hi!
I planted a 24" box Arbutus Marina about 5 months ago - the tree was about 10 feet tall and 4 feet wide when it was put in and has already grown at least a foot since it was planted. In general, it seems to be weathering it's first Southern California summer in the ground very well, although we've had very odd weather this year and it's only truly starting to really heat up outside now.
That said, about four weeks ago the beautiful cinnamon-colored bark on the trunk began to crack, and within a few days nearly all of the bark completely peeled away in small "shavings", leaving the trunk a whitish/greenish color and very smooth surfaced - the tree trunk no longer looks like it has much bark at all, and there's no evidence that new darker surface is developing. Is this normal for this tree? I realize that the bark on the mature Arbutus is peeling constantly - it's one of the most beautiful features of the tree - but photos I've seen on the internet show dark bark peeling away to reveal new, rich brown bark - not bark peeling away leaving what looks like a naked trunk.
Just trying to make sure the tree isn't stressed in any way since it's so new in our landscape - other than this issue, the tree seems to be very healthy and happy!
Any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated!
Thanks!
I planted a 24" box Arbutus Marina about 5 months ago - the tree was about 10 feet tall and 4 feet wide when it was put in and has already grown at least a foot since it was planted. In general, it seems to be weathering it's first Southern California summer in the ground very well, although we've had very odd weather this year and it's only truly starting to really heat up outside now.
That said, about four weeks ago the beautiful cinnamon-colored bark on the trunk began to crack, and within a few days nearly all of the bark completely peeled away in small "shavings", leaving the trunk a whitish/greenish color and very smooth surfaced - the tree trunk no longer looks like it has much bark at all, and there's no evidence that new darker surface is developing. Is this normal for this tree? I realize that the bark on the mature Arbutus is peeling constantly - it's one of the most beautiful features of the tree - but photos I've seen on the internet show dark bark peeling away to reveal new, rich brown bark - not bark peeling away leaving what looks like a naked trunk.
Just trying to make sure the tree isn't stressed in any way since it's so new in our landscape - other than this issue, the tree seems to be very healthy and happy!
Any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated!
Thanks!