Wounds on a red maple

[Woodie]

I was giving my red maple (Acer rubrum--October Glory) a good inspection today and found some wounds.

The tree is roughly 18ft tall, planted six years ago. I had problems with chlorosis two years ago, but got that worked out, and last year it was very healthy.

There are roughly a half-dozen wounds similar to the pictures, all varying in size to as much as 1.5 inches across. Depth varies, some are as deep as 1/4 to 5/8 of an inch.

Tree is in the Detroit area...we have plenty of freeze/thaw cycles, although this year was consistently below freezing all day most of the winter.

I don't see the evidence of any insects in any of the wounds, and they are dry.

Any ideas?

This one's about four feet up the bole:

Same wound, better light:

Wound on an upper limb, probably the largest of them all:

Thanks for any help.



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[CyHugh]

Maple Damage

If I had to guess, I would say sunscald. I saw many examples of this on the college research farm in Ames, Ia.

 

[Woodie]

If I had to guess, I would say sunscald. I saw many examples of this on the college research farm in Ames, Ia.

Kinda what I was thinking, too. Lots of other bark fissures this year... a lot more than most. These thin-skinned maples are prone to it.

But these wounds sure went deep. That's what makes me concerned. The cambium is definitely blown out.

Anything recommended to treat the wounds?




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[treedoc1]

leave it be

time heals all wounds


not sunscald

mechanical damage from nursery digging, transport, or installation

 

[Woodie]

time heals all wounds


not sunscald

mechanical damage from nursery digging, transport, or installation

Thanks for seeing me, treedoc!

This one's been in the ground for six years, though...is it still possible to be left over from that long ago?




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[Ed Roland]

Say there Woodie, how bout hit us with a picture of where the tree meets the soil.

The shadows in the pictures suggest it is unlikely sunscald in this case. I might lean toward installation damage as well, especially since you did not balk at the suggestion from Treedoc1. Stressed maples are magnets for opportunistic pests, so monitor for borer, scale etc.

 

[treedoc1]

Doc Shigo says...

Wounds don't heal, they compartmentalize and the new cambium eventually covers, just like a pruning cut on an older tree. Think of it as a "bruise" like smacking your leg with a hammer and under the skin dies. Eventually the skin wears away. I would guess one "old bruise" is the same height as where the bucket lip might hit it and one might be where it fell back against the skid steer cage. That's why I like forks on nursery stock...cradle the ball. 20 years from now this will just be an imperfection in the heartwood.

 

[Woodie]

Say there Woodie, how bout hit us with a picture of where the tree meets the soil.

The shadows in the pictures suggest it is unlikely sunscald in this case. I might lean toward installation damage as well, especially since you did not balk at the suggestion from Treedoc1. Stressed maples are magnets for opportunistic pests, so monitor for borer, scale etc.

I'll get some more pics up tomorrow in the daylight.

I'm leaning away from installation damage, though...the tree's been in the ground for six years, and these are new wounds this year. Plus one of the wounds is in growth that's occured since it was planted. There's been a lot more fissuring in the bark this season, too. (Welcome to red maples in Michigan...)

I am worried about something having attacked it when it had the chlorosis two years ago. It took me a year to get on top of that.



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[treedoc1]

it looks like 6 years worth of callous growth under that peeling bark.


Don't go looking for zebras.

 

[S Mc]

I'll be interested to see pictures also. Please show the entire tree as well as the root flare.

Whereas I can't tell the aspect of the sun from these pictures, I am not leaning toward sunscald either in that generally it is more concentrated (and elongated) rather than spotty.

Old wounds can take awhile to show up as the outer tissues die and seperate from the damaged area. Which might be creating the "bulge" appearance, unless that is an optical illusion in the picture.

More pictures will be good.

Sylvia

 

[trimmmed]

http://www.na.fs.fed.us/pubs/silvics_manual/Volume_2/acer/rubrum.htm

Scroll on down to the damaging agents.......take your pick. I doubt it matters in terms of the tree's health just the nature of the beast so to speak.

 

[PB]

Wounds don't heal, they compartmentalize and the new cambium eventually covers, just like a pruning cut on an older tree. Think of it as a "bruise" like smacking your leg with a hammer and under the skin dies. Eventually the skin wears away. I would guess one "old bruise" is the same height as where the bucket lip might hit it and one might be where it fell back against the skid steer cage. That's why I like forks on nursery stock...cradle the ball. 20 years from now this will just be an imperfection in the heartwood.

:agree2: Hey Woodie, I would just keep an eye out this summer for insects. Pull off the loose bark so the bugs can't hide, and treat with an insecticide/fungicide if it looks like it is going to be a problem.

You should see the maple I planted 6 years ago, it looks like the bark exploded on it. I need to get a picture when I go home to see if someone here can help. It looks healthy other wise except for about a 2" x 12" gash running up the trunk.

I am assuming it is from frost cracks, but want to double check. It happened suddenly in late October.

 

[S Mc]

A 2" X 12" elongated dessication is more what I would expect from sun scald. It will be interesting to see photos of PB's tree as well.

Mature maples in our area are very susceptible to rib cracks forming due to the high fluctation in temps between day and night. Which are different than the sun scald damage.

Woodie, please do not start applying insecticides or fungicides unless there is a specific and mandatory issue to address.

Sylvia

 

[Woodie]

Per request, here are some additional pics:

This last wound is slightly different from the others:

There is a hollow of some sort underneath the bark, as there is some give when pushed on. It's possible that this could be an old injury...it is just a foot off the ground. And unlike the others that don't have the 'multiple small hole' pattern, this one is on the north side of the tree.

However, I can safely rule out installation or pre-existing injury on one of the others...it is well above the original height of the tree at planting.

Thanks again for all the help everyone!!

 

[Ed Roland]

Injuries localized on sun-exposed surfaces are classed as "winter sun scald". Sun scald on bark (Southwest Winter Injury) occurs on sunny days in winter when the bark of a tree is warmed by the sun, especially on the southwest side of the trunk. The bark and cambium tissue de-acclimate and are not able to re-acclimate quickly enough when the sun sets and the temperature drops abruptly. The result is damage or death of tissue. This distinguishes the injury from "sunscorch" which is due to the drying effect of high summer temperatures. The shadows in the pictures led me to think the sun was not the culprit here but it was only a gut feeling as i do not know sqaut about time/orientation/temp except what can be discerned from the photos.

Since construction damage can take years to manifest symptoms, such as stag horns, of damage why not any other injury?

She is planted too deep and the mulch rig should be enlarged.

All that from a guy with a bag over his head so caveat emptor!

 

[S Mc]

I don't see any fresh wounding of live tissue. It is still hard to determine what exactly has happened.

This next statement has nothing to do with the injuries: Please do not continue to have your maple tipped back. Maples do not like that.

Sylvia

 

[Woodie]

She is planted too deep

Thanks for the help, Weas! It is planted exactly level with the original container, but no telling how it was actually planted in the container before I bought it.

Looking at it though, it appears to me that the root flare is visible...how much further 'up' should it have been?

This next statement has nothing to do with the injuries: Please do not continue to have your maple tipped back. Maples do not like that.

Thanks for the help, Sylvia. I'm not sure I'm following what you mean by 'tipped back,' though?

I may never figure out where the injuries came from, but is there anything in particular I should do now to help them heal? Should I cut away the dead bark in that last picture?




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[Dadatwins]

I am not seeing sunscald either. Looks like some type of canker injury. The scarring at the base is probably from installation and original planting. Sunscald would look more vertical splitting in nature on the sun side of the tree. Those injuries look new and is probably a result of the tree being planted to deep which is causing stress. I agree with SMc do not start randomly spraying anything until you know what you have. First step for me would be some root excavation and see what is happening around the flare.

 

[Woodie]

I am not seeing sunscald either. Looks like some type of canker injury. The scarring at the base is probably from installation and original planting. Sunscald would look more vertical splitting in nature on the sun side of the tree. Those injuries look new and is probably a result of the tree being planted to deep which is causing stress. I agree with SMc do not start randomly spraying anything until you know what you have. First step for me would be some root excavation and see what is happening around the flare.

I had an arborist look at it two years ago, when it had the chlorosis. He checked for girdling roots (particularly after I told him it was not a B&B, but a containier tree. He said he didn't see any problem with them.

Just how much is the tree in too deep, and is there anything that can be done to mitigate the issue at this stage?




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[Dadatwins]

I had an arborist look at it two years ago, when it had the chlorosis. He checked for girdling roots (particularly after I told him it was not a B&B, but a containier tree. He said he didn't see any problem with them.

Just how much is the tree in too deep, and is there anything that can be done to mitigate the issue at this stage?




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Can't tell how deep the tree is from the picture but I should be seeing more flare. You say that you put it in at the same level it was in the original container which is usually 5-6" to deep to start. When trees are pulled from the field the process causes excess dirt to build around the base. I have seen trees actually put out a second flare to try and compensate. Possible that may have been cause of original chlorosis. The only way know for sure is to uncover the root flair and see what is going on down there.