I have an everbearing that I purchased at Lowes end of last year, about 7 feet tall with about a 1" trunk. Placed it in the sand end of last year and we had a sudden frost. Got down into the low 20s.
Did not notice till last weekend that the trunk has several 3 " splits and they are becoming wide open.
I had many many immature Holly trees do this as well, some are still surviving/thriving but this Mulberry tree has been struggling which is what made me look it over closely.
What might I do?
I want to remove the loosened bark and just expose the middle.
Whatever the center of the tree is call ( I.E wood ) it feels very hard. I dont think it felt spongy in any places but I can investigate further tomm evening when I am there.
It was losing leaves at a rapid rate but I have suddenly learned a great many lessons on taking care of my many plants and the realization has come that nothing is getting enough water.
After some major watering to this mulberry it is looking better.
Just dont want to invest too much time though into a dead cause.
Anyone here experience this?
Why do the trees split? Something about the sap being in the wrong place?
Not sure if this is the problem… but a google search found this…
Frost Cracks
Growth slows in the winter as temperatures drop below freezing. If the temperatures fluctuate quite a bit, such as from cold to warm and back again in a period of only a few days, this repeated thawing and freezing can cause the bark of mulberry and other trees to crack.
also this…
Growth. Mulberry trees grow quickly, which is why they are so desirable as urban or landscape trees . However, this fast growth rate can lead to the bark splitting and cracking . This is most common in the spring, when the tree wakes up from its dormant winter state and begins to grow again.
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I have not had that problem with my Illinois Everbearing Mulberry (not yet anyway)… but I just noticed this evening that a lot of my fruit is dropping. It has sized up, turned white, and now a lot of it is just falling off. Bummer. I had high hopes for lots of mulberries this year. Hope that gets better.
I have not had that problem, but can tell you this variety is very prone to grow well beyond the height you can reach to gather fruit. I topped mine several years too late and so it’s very much a challenge each year now to cut out the top growth. If I were to grow this tree again I would top it at @10’ and make all limbs spread outward or be pruned off! So maybe your event is a blessing. Go ahead and start topping it next spring and you will be able to pick fruit at a reasonable height.
Good call, thanks, I planned to possibly keep all my trees at a manageable height but since most of them are just newly planted I thought it best to let them get established before I did anything I.E a couple of years minimum.
Stupid question but Im gonna ask anyway.
What happens to the trunk diam. of the tree if you prune it? Does it stay slim or will it continue to get larger in diam?
I would assume it would stay slim because it dosent need to get any larger because the canopy overhead is kept at a minimum.
The fruit on these specific varieties from my trees is VERY small, almost so small that its almost not worth the effort to pick I.E smaller than a pea?
Maybe Id be wise to wrap the trunk and leave the bark as is? I know what girdling is and because the tree is so small in diam this damage very much reminds me of that.
The damage is all the way down to the wood and pretty extensive.
I have a willow oak that I damaged badly on my property with my tractor accidentally.
It is surprisingly healing. I also have an asian pear that I purchased knowing it was similar and it is healing. I think this mulberry may survive but Id like to give it its best chance.
The best way I remember “picking” mullberries growing up was to put a sheet (not the nice ones for your bed) underneath the tree and giving the trunk/branches a shake. Our tree was huge so I’d climb into it and stand on a branch.
It will continue each year to increase in diameter to support limbs which will continue to grow. Each year I prune off the limb tips so I can walk and mow underneath