a Styrax. Also afflicted are a paperbark maple, triflorum maple and mountain ash.

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plus a katsura??? ... i would have a hard time with disease diagnosis on a host of different species plants.. in one yard ... i suppose anything is possible.. but the odds seem so high against it ...imo

third pic.. that large gaping wound is the problem.. and i would not relate it.. back in history ..... to some disease ... once a wound is opened .. all sorts of things can start happening.. but you cant fix the secondary issues.. with the wound still there ...

i would need pix of each plant.. to see what is going on ..

ken

Gardengal, wiping out numerous species was part of why my thought was possibly verticillium wilt. However, I do agree that it doesn't all add up which is why I finally took some pics to post hoping for some other possibilities. I'm glad to hear you doubt this is the problem because it was not one I wanted in my garden!

It is very strange indeed. I'll try to get some pics from the triflorum as well. That was the first tree I noticed with issues, and at first I thought it might have actually been a lightning strike because the bark was split all the way down the tree. I'm not sure about this styrax. This all appeared to happen very quickly as I do not recall all these wounds and peeling bark on the tree and black spots last year. It was over the winter I noticed the large wound. That bark is also splitting along branches. It appears to be leafing out OK this spring. Still early and I'll keep an eye on it to see how it does. It usually flowers profusely. The Katsura died a fairly slow death where it just failed to thrive after being in for a number of years until I finally cut it down. The other reason things don't add up is that the Triflorum has leafed out and looked great, other than the awful issues with the bark for about five years. So again, veticillium wilt wasn't adding up for me. I've been searching and can't seem to find anything that would cause splitting bark, blackness at the wound sites and black spots along branches as well as black/brown rings inside the branches when cut. I'll get more pics of the other trees.

I would have to imagine zone 5 in new hampshire is a pretty narrow slice, although my direct experience is rather limited, so use the proverbial grain of salt.

styrax and katsura could just be suffering from zonal acclimation issues...yeah, yeah, I know what they books say about hardiness, yada-yada. Individual trees may not be so intelligent as to read what someone writes. maples...maples have enough issues of their own, so you may just be lumping them in with others when their issues could be just that.

last pic is nothing to worry about. natural.

what are the little holes in the bark on the first couple of pics? not the peeling, gaping wounds, but the little holes?

I think there are probably several things going on as Gardengal says, and I concur with waynedanielson on the hardiness issue. I know from experience that Japanese maples and saucer magnolias struggle in the Keene- Brattleboro area. I've had the same problems with the Acer species you've had here in TN, and have been unable to find out what the problem was.

Is it possible sun or freeze/thaw damage over the winter? We had a similar looking issue with a Prunus serotina when we pruned off one side of a forked trunk that left the bark more exposed to sun over the winter. I don't know what kind of sun these plants get in the winter in your yard vs. in the summer.

And Wayne, since you wondered, something like half of NH is zone 5, most of the area south of the "Lakes Region". Given the state's size, that still isn't a massive area. ;>)

Wayne, I put on my glasses and went out to the styrax and see the teeny holes you're talking about. Amazing what glasses can do! I have no idea what those holes are, but I do notice them everywhere there appear to be cracks in the bark. Which came first? The cracks or the holes?! Thanks for the info about the black spots on the branches being normal. I was worried where I was seeing the black rings in vascular tissue that this "blackness" could be something bad.

I'm glad to hear that the consensus is that I'm not dealing with verticillium wilt.

Barb, I had been wondering about sun scald/frost cracks. The triflorum and paperbark maple are damaged on the northern side of the trunks. I had thought that frost cracks were more common on the southern side. Next time you're here you'll have to check them all out. The styrax was very sudden and that area of the styrax may have been under snow for much of this past winter winter. But a good possibility.

After hearing everyone's responses I do have to start thinking that the specific trees in the yard (or maybe groups of trees) are afflicted with different things, and not the terrible veticillium wilt. When I see pictures of the vascular tissue afflicted with verticillium wilt, I know I've seen this in branches I've cut from some of my trees. This is what first led me down the path of verticillium wilt. More oddly as stated earlier that Katsura is resistant, I'm sure the Katsura had the black rings in the vascular tissue and that tree in particular was declining yearly to the point where I finally cut it down. The other trees, although not looking great in the area of bark appear to be no worse for wear as of yet. I really appreciate everyone's responses and will continue to observe.

I'm curious about these teeny tiny holes in the Styrax so I'll try to check into that as well. Thanks everyone.

Hmm - I would not expect sun scald on the north side.

it's hard to know at this point what caused the damage, and what happened after the damage was caused. Right now, saying anything is trying to find a magic bullet that may or may not exist.