Tree splitting at bark - To tap, or not to tap...

[ihoskins]

Had a friend ask my thoughts on tapping a tree that has a nice split in the bark.
Didn't really find anything on the Google machine about this, so I open it up to the experts.
Thanks

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Ian

[barnbc76]

I would tap it, maybe on the other side where it is healthy.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Looks like the tree is healing over. What caused the split. If it was my tree I would tap the other side. I have trees that dont have long for this woods and not tapping would be a waste of sap. They are blown all to hell on one side but there is good healthy Cambium on the other side.

[ihoskins]

He isn't sure what caused the split. It doesn't look like lightning, maybe just growth... who knows

[tbear]

Sun scald?

[maple flats]

Or maybe frost crack. At any rate, I'd tap but not close to he damage. What sap you get will not hurt the tree, it will either try to heal or might even die, but harvesting some sap will not affect that outcome either way.

[DrTimPerkins]

He isn't sure what caused the split. It doesn't look like lightning, maybe just growth... who knows

Is it on the south side of tree (south, southeast or south west)? It appears to be sunscald to me (see photo below...sorry if it is sideways....fixing it eludes me this morning). Tree bark warmed up on a real cold sunny day, then refroze quickly and killed the cambium (growth layer just under the bark) on that side of the tree. Tends to happen primarily on younger smooth-barked stems. Eventually it'll heal over, but it is a weak spot.

The correct way to decide whether to tap trees with basal or trunk wounds is to mentally reduce the diameter of the tree by the size of the wound. So if 1/3 of the circumference of a 12" diameter tree is wounded, then the tree should be considered an 8" diameter tree, and thus would too small to be tapped.

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