I noticed this crabapple tree looked "off" when it was dropping leaves in the fall and over the winter noticed that it looked blackened in many areas -- almost like it had been charred in a fire. Now that it is a bit warmer I was able to take a few pictures. Is this normal for a crabapple? If not, any idea what it is? Any help would be great.
I am going to post an additional picture in a second.
My big old crabapple drops leaves early most years- are you familiar with cedar - apple rust on the leaves? But I don't know about the other thing, or any more about the rust.
I am familiar with cedar-apple rust and didn't see any of the signs of it on the leaves this year. I will do some more reading about it though to see if it impacts the bark at all. I think I am going to send a picture to my local extension and see what they have to say too.
Looks like exfoliating bark. May not be anything to worry about; see if it leafs out normally in the spring.
Resin
