New Home, Question about the Trees

[dataflux]

Good Morning. Bought my first house in September and one of the things that sold me was the mature trees in the area and the gardening around the house. During the fall we didn't have much time to spend on the plants and now that it is the end of the winter I am starting to notice a couple of concerns with the trees.

There are three trees of concern. All are deciduous. One is an apple tree, one is a large (maple?) tree, and the other is a smaller bush-type tree. My main concern is that it appears as though the bark is deteriorating on all three trees and starting to peel off. I dont know if there is a common source or if it is just coincidence. The small bush-type tree exhibits the worst case and I believe it may be past the point of recovery, whereas the large maple tree displays a similar bark problem on the main trunk but the newer growth all appears healthy. The apple tree is somewhere in between.

I am not sure what is causing this problem and before calling a local specialist I would like to solicit the opinions of this forum. The squirrels appear to gather up the shred of bark from the bush-type tree but I do not think they are responsible for the damage. The previous homeowners did not mention any issues when we bought the house and seemed to be gardeners who took great care of their plants.

The two smaller trees are not my major concern; the large maple tree is a fixture in the back yard and I want to ensure it is healthy. I would hate to lose the tree.

Any comments or opinions would be welcomed. I've attached a few pictures of the bush-type tree and the maple, and more are available if necessary, on request. The house/trees are located in Ottawa Canada and are on the north side of the house and probably get mostly unobstructed sunlight all summer.

I dont think the larger tree is a maple, but I forget the shape of the leaves from when I was raking 14 bags worth of leaves in the fall!

Thank you in advance,

Michael

 

[dafunk]

It is a silver maple and it looks like it has been topped in the past which is pretty bad for trees. You can see some of the old limbs have died and decayed a bit, but there are some fairly large suckers ( suckers ar new shoots that come up in alrge numbers after topping) they are not the most strongly attached , i think the best thing to do would be to have someone come in and thin them properly. As for your flaking bark problem silver maples have scaly bark like that as they mature, as long as im not missing something in those pictures it should be fine, just treat it like a scab and dont pick at it.

 

[buzz sawyer]

I wonder if digging for the fence post damaged the smaller one. I agree with dafunk on the others.

 

[dataflux]

Thanks and more info

Thank you for the info. According to the neighbors the hydro/electric company trims the trees tops in the backyards every few years as it interferes with the power lines as it grows.

The smaller one is right against the fence and I don't mind losing it and replacing it with something planted more properly. For the silver maple (thanks for the ID), I'm glad to hear the bark is normal. Who should I call to properly trim the top and remove some of the decayed sections? Also, what should I expect to pay and is that something I do in the spring or fall?

Thanks again.

 

[dafunk]

well if the hydro people come around very few years to top it for the lines i don't think you'll have much luck with that tree as they are tall growing, it will just continually be retopped and be stressed again and again until eventually you might lose it. I know you like having the tree but if you plan on living there a long time maybe remove it and replant with something else, in a better location, then you can watch it grow from young and it becomes more of "your" tree. Besides with suckers that come up after topping even when they do get large there is always a higher chance of structural failure.

 

[buzz sawyer]

One of the biggest problems with tree pruning is trees planted in the wrong place - often under a power line. If caught early, the maple is a good candidate for pollarding, but they usually wait till so much has to be cut it endangers the tree.

 

[RCR 3 EVER]

It may be the bleepin squirrels

It may also be the squirrels, they did a number on my redwood tree and are also attacking the bark on my Chinkapin Oak and River Birch. The damage on your Maple looks very similar to my Oak, with chunks of bark missing. I have seen them chewing the bark and taking the stuff back to their nests. This is the first year I have seen them attack our trees!
I am afraid my Redwood is a goner as most of the tree is debarked and quite a bit is down to the white wood layer. The damage is from base to about 20 ft' up.

Near top:

 

[BriGuy89]

I agree silver maple that's been topped but at first blush, based on the bark damage, I thought it was a sycamore!