Cracked Bark and Lichens on Young Red Maples

Are Cracked Bark and Lichens Harming Your Red Maples?

Your three-year-old red maples developed cracked bark and gray-brown patches with lichens after a three-month summer drought. The cracking is normal—as maples mature, their bark transitions from smooth to fissured. Lichens are harmless epiphytes; they don’t parasitize the tree and only indicate a thin canopy.

Care Recommendations

• Fertilize: Apply 10-10-10 at 1 lb per inch of trunk diameter, scattered and watered in.
• Reduce watering: Only water if two weeks pass without rain. Overwatering can worsen root issues.

With proper nutrition and less frequent irrigation, your maples should fill out and the lichens will naturally diminish as the canopy thickens.