Bark falling off base of maple tree

Leon

When this happened to my oak tree at my cottage (about 200 km north of Toronto) I patched the wound with cement. It seemed to help prevent rot and insects from getting in there.

Should I do the same with my maple? It's about 30 years old. There is no new bark growth where the bark peeled off. It's about 1 square foot.

The city trims branches from it from time to time to allow hydro wires to pass thru the top of it.

I've also noticed in the past 5 years that it seems to have some kind of black fungus on the leaves that appear in late summer.

Eric Frei

Cement patching is an old school thing, best not to do it.

Some reading for you.

http://www.treeworld.info/f2/need-he...oblem-276.html

Trichoderma | wound dressing | wound painting | Biological controls

Horticultural Myths Exposed by Dr Linda Chalker-Scott Washington State University

Cavity cleaning| insert tubes| fungicide| burning

Sounds to me like fungal infection unless of course there's been mechanical damage.

The black fungus is likely due to fungal spores attaching themselves to sap suckers on the leaf (sap suckers exude sticky honeydew which spores bond to and grow on). Kill the sap suckers and the fungus will be gone, or never arrive.

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