Why Is My Gum Tree Shedding Bark

Stem girdling roots are a major issue when planting a nursery bought tree.

Why is my gum tree shedding bark. You can tell the bark will soon begin to peel because the western side of the tree changes colour first david said. Shedding eucalyptus tree bark may help keep the tree healthy. The most common are presented here. It s the smooth ones that shed either all or some of their bark.

Some peeling bark can perform photosynthesis contributing to the rapid growth and overall health of the tree. An australian native corymbia maculata is endemic to the eastern states of australia. It is a strong and majestic tree. Leaves turn yellow and drop and it is common to see eucalyptus trees dropping their branches as the disease takes hold.

It typically colonizes the sapwood of trees stressed by drought sunburn or. Canker caused by a type of fungus begins by infecting the bark and proceeds to the interior of the tree. Turkey tail fungus trametes versicolor is found on cut or fallen wood or on wounded areas of living sweet gum trees. Reason that the bark is peeling off of a mature tree.

In addition the wood under the peeling bark is covered with a mat of fungus. Dead or dying twigs and leaves unusual occurrences of dripping or oozing sap. Signs of this can include. The most common cause of tree bark loss is that it is growing out of its skin which must be shed to allow its trunk to enlarge.

In other cases tree bark may fall off due to insect infestation. Peeling bark caused by this disease is accompanied by yellowing and wilting leaves and dying branches. Diseases and pests weaken a tree and cause distress that can result in a tree shedding its bark. Over those years i ve admired this beautiful tree.

This bark shedding is called decorticating and is a normal thing to see especially with smooth barked gum trees such as sydney bluegum spotted gum and ribbon gums hence their name like eucalyptus viminalis. The large spotted gum tree in my little back yard sheds its bark each year and after ten years of living with it i finally learned a valuable life lesson from it. Stem girdling roots are a problem that are very often over looked. Peeling tree bark disease hardwood trees that have peeling bark may be suffering from a fungal disease called hypoxylon canker.

People can use trunks of these trees as features in their own gardens and the peeled bark makes great mulch to retain water in garden beds. As the tree sheds its bark it also sheds any mosses lichens fungi and parasites that may live on the bark.