Split Bark on Crabapple Tree. Can this tree be saved? - Ask Extension
Last year, this 4-year old crabapple tree got these brown spots all over its leaves and they all fell off by August. This Spring, the tree leafed ou...
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Split Bark on Crabapple Tree. Can this tree be saved? #141211
Asked July 16, 2013, 8:25 PM EDT
Last year, this 4-year old crabapple tree got these brown spots all over its leaves and they all fell off by August. This Spring, the tree leafed out beautifully, but now the bark has split severely. It appears that this is still progressing. What could have caused it? Do you think that it can be saved?
Livingston County Michigan
Expert Response
Last year, the crabapple got apple scab. It got it again this year. But once the spots appear, it is too late to treat the tree. You have to apply fungicides multiple times during the season before the spots appear.
You can prevent fungal diseases but you cannot cure them. The tree is not four years old. You may have owned it four years, but it is older. But if the apple scab is not controlled, it won't be getting much older. It is too late to start spraying for control this year. Next spring when there are green, closed buds, begin spraying with chlorothalonil on a 7-10 day repeat unless the label indicates other timing. Spray for a total of five times but you may have to continue if the weather is humid or wet. You will have to do this for several years.
The split in the bark is not related. That occured for one of several reasons. This injury has been here more than one year. The bark may have been covering it. This could be because when the winter is bitterly cold, bark and wood contract. On a sunny winter day, the bark expands and the wood below stays contracted. When the diameter of the trunk increases the next spring, the crack appears. Or it is possible that glyphosate was sprayed around the base of the tree to kill grass. You need to trim off all the loose bark because it will not grow back.
The tree should be mulched with three inches of wood chips and watered when it is dry. The tree seems to be in rough condition.
The gray stuff all over the bark (lichens) indicates that the bark is abnormally dry and has been for a few years. It indicates that the tree is not growing well.
You can prevent fungal diseases but you cannot cure them. The tree is not four years old. You may have owned it four years, but it is older. But if the apple scab is not controlled, it won't be getting much older. It is too late to start spraying for control this year. Next spring when there are green, closed buds, begin spraying with chlorothalonil on a 7-10 day repeat unless the label indicates other timing. Spray for a total of five times but you may have to continue if the weather is humid or wet. You will have to do this for several years.
The split in the bark is not related. That occured for one of several reasons. This injury has been here more than one year. The bark may have been covering it. This could be because when the winter is bitterly cold, bark and wood contract. On a sunny winter day, the bark expands and the wood below stays contracted. When the diameter of the trunk increases the next spring, the crack appears. Or it is possible that glyphosate was sprayed around the base of the tree to kill grass. You need to trim off all the loose bark because it will not grow back.
The tree should be mulched with three inches of wood chips and watered when it is dry. The tree seems to be in rough condition.
The gray stuff all over the bark (lichens) indicates that the bark is abnormally dry and has been for a few years. It indicates that the tree is not growing well.
