Loose Bark A Bad Sign In This Case
 

I’ve been trying to catch up on the thousands of emails I’ve gotten in the past few years and this one I ran into deserves a newsletter of its own. This photo shows a classic and chronic problem that exists all over the country, and in other countries, that affects the health of millions of trees. The question was whether the loose bark on the trunk was a bad sign of something wrong with the tree.

Loose bark and bark popping off trees is generally not a big problem. Trees naturally kick bark off as they expand their trunk diameter. But, in this case - it is a big deal! This tree is in severe stress and the loose bark here is breaking away from a diseased area. Reason? The tree is a minimum of 12” too deep in the ground, maybe more. The buried flare, which is part of the trunk, has been kept moist and not breathing properly, and thus deterioration has started.

 

The solution? Well, if the roots have not been killed back too far yet, exposing the flare with the Air Spade or other tools will solve the problem. Links to trunk flare work:  Air Spade     Root Flare Advice
Dirt Doctor Tree Exposures     Improper Root Flares     Proper Root Flares     Root Flare Specialists

To discuss this newsletter or any other topic, tune in each Sunday 8am - 11am central time to the Dirt Doctor Radio Show. The call-in phone number is 1-866-444-3478. Listen on the internet or click here to find a station in your area.

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Naturally yours,

Howard Garrett