Why is bark peeling off my red maple trees

Question

The bark is peeling off my red maples’ tree trunks and the trunks are splitting open. What is causing this and what can I do to keep them from further damage and dying?

Answer 1

Here is an article (PDF) from Cornell University on "Bark splitting on trees" with management strategies:

https://bit.ly/1ESZ3Ra

As the article will discuss, your tree probably experienced damage during the hard cold winter months.