Don looked at a scribbly gum (Eucalyptus haemastoma) with vertical splits in its trunk. He explained that during periods of drought trees often don’t grow much, but as soon as it rains they make up for it with enormous amount of growth. Sometimes the girth of a tree expands so rapidly that it can actually split its own bark. Normal, healthy trees should be able to cope with this sort of damage. In fact, the vertical splits on the tree shown in our segment were healing over
If you notice vertical cracks in a tree during or just after the drought, don’t be too worried. The tree will recover. Simply keep the water up to it and perhaps apply a little fertiliser. (Note: don’t fertilise if the tree is an Australian native.)