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Splitting damage Japanese Maple

15 years ago

Japanese Maple - Tamukeyama

Can anyone please help with what may be happening to my Japanese Maple?

Tree is about 4 feet.

Has been established and done well since planted 4 years ago in our garden.

The tree seems to be under stress leaves are very narrow, you would think it needed water, but this is not the case, we have received over 4 inches of rain in the past few days. I have attached pictures of the trunk with recent damage. It appears to be splitting and it looks like the outer layer of the bark is rotting a little. There are no obvious pests on the tree and the damage is about 6 inches from the ground.

Any ideas? Thank you.

Image link:

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Comments (7)

stompede
15 years ago
What compass direction does that damage face?
callicarpa89
Original Author
15 years ago
The damage faces West.
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Thank you all for the great advice. He's coming over to finish cleaning up, a process that was delayed by wind and rain, and I've already told him about the JM; that we could try cleaning up the damage and hope for the best next year, but that I expect him to be responsible for the damage if it doesn't bounce back. We took lots of pictures. We'll see what happens. In the meantime, once the remainder of the tree is removed, I'll try fixing up the JM and hope for the best. Darned thing is that I planted this JM about 16 years ago, when it was just a few feet tall; it took that long for it to grow to the 7 or 8 feet it's at now. Would hate to start over. Najoba, wow!...that's an awful situation. Having trees removed costs a small fortune. I know there are risks involved and it's hard work, but there's no reason for shoddy workmanship, then sneaking off as if nothing happened. I liked the guy (owner) who did my work. He had to work in tight quarters between the house, the road, and electrical wires. Accidents happen. But I wish he told me about when he called me after the job was done.
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Japanese Maple - Tamukeyama Can anyone please help with what may be happening to my Japanese Maple? Tree is about 4 feet. Has been established and done well since planted 4 years ago in our garden. The tree seems to be under stress leaves are very narrow, you would think it needed water, but this is not the case, we have received over 4 inches of rain in the past few days. I have attached pictures of the trunk with recent damage. It appears to be splitting and it looks like the outer layer of the bark is rotting a little. There are no obvious pests on the tree and the damage is about 6 inches from the ground. Any ideas? Thank you. Image link:
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I had a similar problem in some upper branches and decided it was dieback. The outer layers kept reducing and yet to cut it out would have ruined the shape. I had to just let it run its course. At least the upper branches hid it. Why don't you contact "Flemings" (Monbulk/Silvan) as I know they wholesale a lot of weeping maples and perhaps you may get some better advice than the local nursery. You need some specialist advice. Good luck. I would be interested to hear any solutions. The last time I posted a message about Jap weeping maples I had only one response. This forum seems a bit slower than some of the others I think.
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stompede
15 years ago
One possibility would be sunscald. It's more common on southern facing sides of the trunk but can occur on west facing. It happens in the late winter or early spring and much less commonly in the fall. You can't rule out any older damage to the trunk that has now become visible either. Canker is also possible, however I don't see much there that makes me think that is likely. It appears you have good callous growth so the tree is healing over the wound. It is worth contacting your local Extension to be sure there is no disease.
callicarpa89
Original Author
15 years ago
stompede thank you for your input and suggestion.

I called a Japanese Maple nursery that said basically the same thing, probably not sunscald because of the side the damage is on, but to apply a bactricide and fungicide and a healing wound paste. She also said it was good that the damage is vertical which doesn't impede water/nutrients from getting up to the canopy.

It is possible that previous damage would show now especially with so much rain. I did not know that too much water can really stress a tree.
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
15 years ago
Westernly exposure could mean frost cracking on maples. There isn't a healing wound paste or anything else that you should apply to your tree. Whether it's an environmental issue or disease, there truly is nothing that you can apply that can help at this point.

Some people apply paper tree wrap to sensitive trees in the winter. If you should decide to do that, be sure to remove it in the spring.
stompede
15 years ago
Do not apply any sort of wound dressing/paint/etc. Also, it's debatable whether or not applying anything except for a properly timed insecticide would do any good.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/~Linda%20Chalker-Scott/Horticultural%20Myths_files/Myths/Wound%20sealer.pdf
callicarpa89
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank you rhizo and stompede for your advice. We did not apply anything to the tree, we will have to wait and see how it fares.

At this point it looks very stressed and droopy, but again, with the wound and tons of rain I have heard this is typical. If you saw the tree you might think it was in drought, that's the look it has. We hope it recovers.

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