Rhus typhina bark problems

[jobbezz]

Hello,
I have a rhus typhine in my garden. The tree is known for spreading easily due to it's roots, but I have placed a root barrier.
The problem is that the bark is opening on the main branches. Does anyone know if this is a disease, or is this tree just on it's end of life?

Thank you,

 

[Tetters]

I have always found that Rhus needs space, it also dies off fairly quickly, and maybe the fact that it sends up so many new runners is it`s own built in way of protecting itself. I think that if it is confined and unable to replenish itself it may well be the end of your Rhus, and if the bark doesn`t meet up on the trunk at all it will be on the way out. If you have enough space maybe you could remove the root suppressing material - good luck.

 

[Marck]

Greetings, welcome to the Forums.

The bark and cambium on one side of the trunk is dead. However many trees and shrubs may still live for x number of years with such a wound, as long as there is some partial connection of living phloem and xylem tissue between the roots and the leaves.

All the same, as Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina), in the Cashew Family (Anacardiaceae), is species that regularly regenerates from underground rhizomes, it behooves you to allow new woody stems to replace the older dying trunks.

It would be interesting to see the root/rhizome barrier put in place, but whatever its construction, if it is as effective as you claim in suppressing new stems, it will ultimately cause the death of the Sumac. Far better to just remove excessive stems once a year as an annual pruning chore. Often the complex contraptions we devise to make life easier, create their own problems and maintenance issues.

If one has a compost pile, garden trimmings are a gift, not a waste.