I realize this post is several years old, but I can get you a good amount of Jerusalem Thorn (parkinsonia aculeata) seeds. They grow wild down here, and put out seeds by the millions.

well.. i hope you dont have soil in the pot.. how big is it.. how big is the pot.. and what is the potting media???? and what protection.. in z9.. have you used.. to keep teh pot from getting over 100 degrees in july/aug.. besides cloudy days of rain ???? for trees... the media should be near straight bark chunks... any amount of peat.. would mean.. with all the rain.. you are probably rotting off the roots ..;. tip it out of the pot.. and see what the root ends look like... if they are not white.. there is you answer ... more facts ken

I shouldn't have said cankers, I thought the word cankers was interchangeable with frost crack and sunscald, and now I know that they're not. My trees had frost crack and/or sunscald, due to being planted on the south/southwest part of our house. The trees i planted were susceptible to it, which I didn't know at the time. The Crimson King didn't survive no doubt because I didn't water it enough. I watered it, but it was like 8ft tall, and i only watered it about 5 gallons a week (puny for my fast draining soil). And probably the same could be said for the red rocket maple. But the golden Raintree died during a bitter cold winter. I read it was to zone 5, but most sites have it at zone 6, so it wasn't right for my zone in the first place. Dh and I decided this morning that we're going to do a 6ft L fence blocking the 3 properties that abuts ours, including the next door neighbor, the neighbor's Christmas tree property, and the empty tract of land belonging to his parents. The entire fence will be about 150ft long. That's an immediate 6ft screen. And no waiting for 10 years for conifers to do the job. He's going to take some time off in May or June and we'll do the fence. Just a simple wood fence. No one around here has a fence. Not a single solitary person. But then they don't have 3 properties abutting their backyard either. We're doing an L fence because we don't want to close off our entire back yard. We like the openness to be outside barbecuing and being able to say hello to neighbors walking down to the lake, or the elderly couple who lives up the road, they must be close to 80yrs now, and they walk hand in hand every spring and summer past our house, and then back. I love them. I would hate being fully blocked off from ever seeing them. I admit every spring I look for them, and always a little scared they won't walk anymore. I have 3 Lilacs on that side, and they are quickly growing and will provide some screen, so the yard won't be fully exposed to the road. We also live out in the middle of nowhere, so the only people who drive past here are the people who live here, and the few people who take our road as a short cut to a nearby town. And now, I'll be able to relax and plant what I want, and for no other reason than pure pleasure. Who knew! lol We still plan on planting Junipers and other shrubs, but now they''ll be here and there, for a focal point, not for a screen.

I just googled it and read that some animals like squirrels, voles and porcupines may chew off bark for food or medication. And to stop them wrap the tree with something. I have stopped my beloved little squirrels that like to nibble on my Cut Leaf Japanese Maple by smearing some Vaseline with fine ground cayenne hot pepper in it on the branches and they leave it alone now and stick to the seeds I give them. For a large tree like yours I would wrap it with some chicken wire for a year or so to break the habit or spray it with a product that would not be notices like ugly as Vaseline with hot cayenne pepper. I bought a brand called "I Must Garden" , "Squirrel Repelant and sprayed other trees with it. and it seems to work. (photo below) I got it on amazon. The animals are just trying to survive, so I only use these deterrents when necessary and live and let live. But note the spray has to be replenished after a rain, and the Vaseline and cayenne do not...and is cheaper! Hope this helps.