What causes the bark is falling off my tree?
Cambium gets killed by sun scald on thin-barked trunks (young maples, cherries, lindens on a south or west exposure in late winter), lightning, mower and string-trimmer strikes, frost cracks, deer rub, or a canker fungus colonizing bark already weakened by drought. Frequently the real trigger is a root injury from years earlier — construction, grade change, compaction — and the trunk is simply the last place it shows up.
What you'd see
Sheets, plates, or long strips of bark on the ground or hanging loose from the trunk. Under them, smooth pale wood with no green layer when you scratch it with a thumbnail. Often a vertical bare strip running up one side, sometimes with a black, gray, or tan crust on the exposed wood. The normal version looks different: sycamore, river birch, shagbark hickory, and silver maple shed thin curls or plates evenly all over, the wood beneath looks fresh, and the canopy is full.
Related
- The bark is falling off my tree — what should I do?→
- Is the bark is falling off my tree an emergency?→
- Can the bark is falling off my tree be fixed without removing the tree?→
- How long can I leave the bark is falling off my tree before it becomes dangerous?→
- How much does it cost to deal with the bark is falling off my tree?→
- The top of my tree is dying — what should I do?→
- Is the top of my tree is dying an emergency?→
- Can the top of my tree is dying be fixed without removing the tree?→