Bark separating on central leader

weekender21

weekender21

Well-Known Member
Has anyone seen this before? I noticed these small cracks on a few of my Dunstan chestnuts when I was in NC last week. A few tiny bugs (mite size) crawled out when I investigated with the tip of my knife.

I covered the cracks I found with pruning sealer, not sure if they’re doomed or not.

I have not put any herbicide on these trees.

I also noticed a few seemed loose at the base. I hope they weren’t disconnected from the root from moles but it’s a possibility .

Other than that, they all leafed out and appear healthy.

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No. Not sure if they’re all the same but this one is more on the North side. I’m sure some might be on the S or SW. Are you thinking sunscald?


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weekender21 said:
No. Not sure if they’re all the same but this one is more on the North side. I’m sure some might be on the S or SW. Are you thinking sun scold?


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Yes, that is what I suspected. We think of it more with apples and pears, but it can happen with many different trees. I've even seen it happen to dogwood trees.

Sometimes you will also see it on the North - kind of opposite where the sun is hitting on the South or Southwest.
 
weekender21 said:
Actually it is more NW or even west on some looking at my map. I didn’t realize how much that road bends.


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A range of West to South is where you will see it. I really think that's what it is. Sometimes it heals back okay and other times it never quite closes - leaving a place for decay to start. The experts now recommend trimming the bark back slick with a pocket knife to where it is still attached to the tree. But, I don't think anyone really knows what is best. Your pruning sealer may work better than what they recommend.
 
PS: Looseness at the base wouldn't have anything to do with sunscald. If that is the case, you very well could have had voles gnawing them off below grade. I've seen that happen to many chestnuts.
 
Native Hunter said:
PS: Looseness at the base wouldn't have anything to do with sunscald. If that is the case, you very well could have had voles gnawing them off below grade. I've seen that happen to many chestnuts.
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There really isn't anything I can do to prevent that, right?
 
weekender21 said:
There really isn't anything I can do to prevent that, right?
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It's hard to control what happens below the ground. I've heard of people burying screen wire and trying different things like that, but I don't know how effective that really is. I personally haven't done anything like that, but maybe someone else will see this thread and chime in. Of course, I do protect trees with screen wire above grade and staple the wire right down to the ground mat.

The gnawing below grade happens so infrequently on my place, I feel that it's just something I will take my chances with. At some point a tree will get big enough that its not going to happen, so time is on our side.
 
Would it be beneficial to paint even with a 3-4 yr tree to prevent sunscald? I have some trees with bark peeling also.
 
Boone said:
Would it be beneficial to paint even with a 3-4 yr tree to prevent sunscald? I have some trees with bark peeling also.
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White latex paint will prevent it from happening (for most everyone). It can happen to fairly good sized trees. I had a Liberty Apple Tree that had been bearing for several years and sunscald separated the bark completely around the tree.

I now have a 9 foot tall whip coming back at that spot. Here is a thread on that event:
http://deerhunterforum.com/index.ph...cald-on-a-liberty-apple-tree.2447/#post-44261
 
I may end up painting all my trees that aren’t tubed this fall. Won’t take long and seems like a good investment in time and money.

I will have to work around the window screen to cover the entire trunk. I wonder if the screen helps prevent scald at all?


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weekender21 said:
I may end up painting all my trees that aren’t tubed this fall. Won’t take long and seems like a good investment in time and money.

I will have to work around the window screen to cover the entire trunk. I wonder if the screen helps prevent scald at all?


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I don't think the screen would block enough sun to prevent it. However, I've had the idea of just taking a wide board to block the sun and setting in the cage during the winter time until the tree matures.
 
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