AboutJim Hyland Expertise I am an expert in Forestry, Forest Entomology, Forest Pest Control, and Forest Health. Extensive knowledge in Identification of insects and diseases of trees. Expert on Bark beetles and other insects that attack forests. Also a Registrated Forester with extensive knowledge in the management and care of forests.
Experience 34 years as State Pest Management Chief in a Southern state. Extensive knowledge in Forestry.
BS with major in Forest Management and Entomology Registered Forester Certified Pesticide Appicator
Question QUESTION: Our maple tree looked healthy in June. Then most of the leaves turned to a
copper color. They did not dry up and none have fallen off the tree. My
husband fertilizes our lawn every spring and we water when needed. We live
in Northeastern Minnesota. I have contacted our local county extension
agency but they can't figure out the problem either. They suggested to water
it more and fertilize it with a 10-10 mix. We have done that. New growth is
appearing on the tree with some of the leaves being green, new shoots are
sprouting up and are already over a foot tall within the past month, and now
the bark has gotten a vertical crack in it... like it's ready to burst it's seam. Is
it possible the tree is growing too fast? We have not seen any other trees that
even come close to looking like this. Thank you for any help. IMAGE: maple tree
ANSWER: The crack sounds like sun scald.
Looks like either sun scale or frost crack. Neither will kill the tree.
Cracks and splits in tree trunks are fairly common and may occur for various reasons, but are usually not a significant threat to the tree. Typically, there's not much you can do about them once they occur.
One of the most common reasons for cracks and splits on tree trunks is frost cracking. Frost cracks occur during cold winter weather. The inner and outer wood in a tree's trunk expands and contract at different rates when temperatures change. When winter temperatures plummet below zero, especially after a sunny day when the tree's trunk has been warmed by the sun's rays, the different expansion rates between the inner and outer wood can cause such a strain in the trunk that a crack develops. Frost cracks occur suddenly, can be several feet long, and are often accompanied by a loud, rifle-shot sound. Frost cracks at a point where the trunk was physically injured in the past.
Maples and sycamores are very prone to frost cracks. Apples, ornamental crabapples, ash, beech, horse chestnut, and tulip trees are also susceptible. Isolated trees are more subject to frost cracks than trees in groups or in forest settings. Trees growing on poorly drained soils are particularly prone to frost cracks.
Frost cracks often close during summer, only to re-open in succeeding winters. They do not seriously damage trees, although they do provide openings where certain disease organisms may enter the tree, particularly if the tree is in a weakened condition. Frost cracks are difficult to prevent. Wrapping the trunks with tree wrap paper in fall helps, but is inconvenient to do year after year. Apple growers sometimes white-wash the trunks of apple trees to prevent frost cracks and other winter injury problems, but this is unattractive in landscape settings. The best way to prevent frost cracks is to prevent any injuries to the trunk throughout the tree's life. A professional arborist can bolt frost cracks shut with a technique called lip bolting. Most people simply remove loose bark hanging along the edges of the crack. You should not paint frost cracks or other wounds with tree wound dressing. These materials can trap moisture, causing decay in the trunk.
Sunscald is another form of winter injury that can cause cracks and splits. Sunscald occurs when cells in the living tissue beneath the bark thaw out on sunny days. This occurs mainly on the south or west side of trunks and branches. These cells rupture when they re-freeze at night. The tree is injured when enough cells in a given area rupture. You'll notice the injury the following spring as a discolored, sunken area. Fungus infections often invade trees via sunscald injuries. Young, thin-barked trees are most susceptible to sunscald injury. These include maple, honey locust, linden, and mountain ash. Heavy pruning on neglected trees exposes sections of bark that have been protected from the sun's direct rays for years, predisposing them to sunscald injury.
You can reduce or eliminate sunscald injury on young trees by wrapping the trunks each fall with tree wrap paper. Do this every year until the bark begins to roughen. This may take only a few years on some trees, but more years on others. Prune trees that haven't been pruned for years in stages, not all at once. This will help prevent sunscald.
I would spray the area with an insecticide called Merit to prevent borers from entering the trunk. And fertilize the tree with 10-10-10 fertilizer at the rate of 1 lb per inch of trunk diameter scattered around the tree and watered in good. This will increase the health of the tree and allow the tree to better stave off any insect or fungi.
In general I would not be too concerned about the crack except for borer prevention.
One question did the lawn fertilizer contain a herbicide. These come under names like Weed and Feed. The herbicide will cause the trees to turn and/ or die. I hope this was not the case.
Water-watering the lawn is good fro the grass but the grass will get most of the water. A tree needs about 1 inch of water per week so I would suggest that you place a pan under the tree and turn the sprinkler on and when the pan has 1 inch of water in it stop. Do this once a week unless it rains good.
The sprouts from the roots near the ground level of the trunk I would prune off. They are taking up some of the water and should not be left growing.
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QUESTION: We were told by a county extension agency that sun scald would happen on
the south side of a tree. The bark on our tree just started to split on the east
side of the tree in mid July. Do you know if sun scald can occur on an east
side? The tree stands alone in that part of our yard and in Northeastern MN
the winter temperatures can drop regularly to 20-30 below zero. My
husband has used Scotts turf builder plus over the years, but last year our
lawn was treated for fairy rings and an organic fertilizer was used. This year
we used a 10-10-10 fertilizer in May and again 2 weeks ago when the county
extension agency recommended that and extra watering. We are doing that.
They also told us this week to paint the split of the tree with latex paint,
which we did. Would wrapping the bark with an open weave tree wrap help?
Answer Scotts turf builder plus does contain a herbicide that could damage trees. I would suspect that is where the problem started. The tree wrap is used in usually the winter months and early spring where the temperature can change fast from warm to cold causing bark to die and then as the tree grows it will split. I think with the Scotts and sun scald the tree has had a rough year. I would continue with what you are doing and wrap the trunk this winter until late spring.
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