Is my redbud sick? - Ask Extension
Greetings.I have a beautiful redbud in my front yard. It's huge... arborists stop to ask me about it and the company I use says it's the largest he'...
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Is my redbud sick? #381145
Asked January 04, 2017, 12:29 PM EST
Greetings.
I have a beautiful redbud in my front yard. It's huge... arborists stop to ask me about it and the company I use says it's the largest he's seen south of Hampden. Several months ago the bark on the southwest side of the trunk about a foot up from the ground started peeling away in a 2 foot by 8 inch swath. Just recently, on a higher bough, the same thing is happening. A patch roughly the same size is now bare. I've attached pictures so you can see.
What's wrong? Should I wrap it? I'd hate to lose this gorgeous tree. Any advice you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Aimee K.
I have a beautiful redbud in my front yard. It's huge... arborists stop to ask me about it and the company I use says it's the largest he's seen south of Hampden. Several months ago the bark on the southwest side of the trunk about a foot up from the ground started peeling away in a 2 foot by 8 inch swath. Just recently, on a higher bough, the same thing is happening. A patch roughly the same size is now bare. I've attached pictures so you can see.
What's wrong? Should I wrap it? I'd hate to lose this gorgeous tree. Any advice you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Aimee K.
Douglas County Colorado
Expert Response
Hi Amy,
Thank you for including the pictures, the tree really is huge!! Unfortunately on my end they are rather blurry and I can't get a good look at what the damage is. The description you gave and the close up of the lower trunk appears to be sun scald or south west winter injury. This typically happens on younger trees becuase their bark is thinner and more delicate, but if the conditions were just right, it could happen to a mature tree.
If this is indeed what happened to your tree, there isn't a whole lot that you can do at this point to help heal the existing damage, but you can wrap the tree to prevent further damage. Depending on how extensive the damage is, the tree may recover fully, but it's a wait and see situation. Please visit the link below for more information.
http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/factsheet/NR_FF_021pr.pdf
The photo of taken higher up in the tree is very odd. In the image (again, it's a bit blurry for some reason) it looks like the tree was rubbed or hit by something. It doesn't look like sloughing that you might see from other types of insects or disease. Did you pull any of the bark off, or did it all fall off in one big chunk?
