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What to do about bark peeling off apple tree branches

#1 · 10th January 2024, 11:46 am

I have an apple tree that has some bark peeling off some of its limbs. I don't think they're cankers. I was going to cut off the limbs, well back to below where the bark is peeling, as part of the winter prune. Is that a well-advised course of action? What do you think might be wrong with the tree?

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but I am very unexperienced and I wanted to ask some experts before I took action.

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#2 · 11th January 2024, 12:16 pm

Hi @theogarden

Thanks for your question about your peeling bark apple trees. It certainly has been a weird and brutal winter for all of our gardens.

Peeling bark happens for a number of reasons:

Rabbits that ring bark trees where they eat the bark off young trees
Deers or livestock nibbling or rubbing up against trees
Pruning cuts that get infected and allow water in
Damage to branches or severe winters where water freezes on branches, causing them to split

The good news is that peeling bark on an otherwise healthy fruit tree is nothing to be worried about. Most trees will be fine and survive.

The key when inspecting damaged or bark-peeling trees is to assess how much bark has been lost. If the entire sleeve of bark all around a branch or trunk is removed, usually, the tree will die as it leaks moisture and can't survive without its full water transport system in place.

However, if part of it remains intact, it will be fine.

If you want to be sure when removing peeling bark branches, always follow the advice below:

Step 1- Use clean, sharp secateurs of loppers that easily cut through the branch

Step 2- Always take the affected peeled bark branch back to the next clean, undamaged part of the branch or even back to the main trunk.

Step 3- Prune in winter for apples and pears or ornamental trees and in summer for any cherries or stone fruit trees.

Here are some more video guides to help with fruit trees.