Dallas Morning News – December 4, 2018
Peeling, Cracking and Falling Tree Bark and Other Debris
Bigtooth maple – nice color this year and one of the cleanest trees – especially if you are lucky enough to get a male and have no seeds.
Debris falling from trees is usually normal and nothing more than a little bit of a nuisance. But, there are a few exceptions. Some cracks in trunks, dead limbs releasing, peeling and falling bark and unseasonal leaf drop may indicate tree health problems.
How can we tell the difference? Examining the base of the plant. If the tree is too deep in the ground, the investigation is pretty much over. Trees with straight trunks at ground level, like telephone poles, fence posts or straws stuck in the ground indicate that the tree is planted too deeply – or soil and/or mulch has been pilled on someway or another.
Trees planted too deeply in the ground are the most serious and common cause of problems, but there are others. When trees are “over-pruned”, “gutted”, “lifted” or pruned with flush cuts, they are more subject to frost cracking, sunscald and pest infestation. These bad techniques stress the trees and make them more susceptible, especially to diseases but also to sapsucker birds, galls, mistletoe and other parasites.
Deeply planted trees are also more prone to circling and girdling roots that can place pressure on the expanding trunk and root flares restricting the flow of water and nutrients between the roots and leaves. These damaging roots are usually below ground if flares are buried. Indications include flattened side or sides of the trunk, smaller leaves and unseasonal or strange fall color.
Pecans are among the messiest trees by dropping something year round even when healthy – but the shade and the nuts are worth it.
Other messiness from trees can be non-related to anything serious. I’m often asked to recommend trees that are not messy. That’s a tough question because all trees drop stuff during the year. For example, some people think live oaks are cleaner because they are evergreen. Truth is – live oaks are seriously messy. The difference in timing must fool people, but they drop loads of leaves in the early spring when buds are swelling to push out the new foliage, then masses of un-colorful flowers cover the ground followed by tons of acorns in the fall.
I have recommended bigtooth maple as clean tree, but even it can messily disperse the interesting seed called samara. It was heavy this year in fact. I guess my nominations for the cleanest trees would be hollies (yaupon, East Palatka and Savannah), dawn redwood and the cypresses. They all drop flowers, fruit and foliage as well, but the texture is fine and not hard to clean up.
So – if your tree’s messiness is from not feeling well, that’s fixable. The Sick Tree Treatment is the answer. The most important step is the removal of mulch and soil from the root flare. If it’s from nothing but the natural course of growth, you have to deal with the maintenance. That’s Ok because the trees are worth it.