Split Eucalyptus

[rovers90]

My mum has this eucalyptus tree in her back garden. Over the last 12 months or so it has developed this split in the trunk and hopefully you can see its not just the bark thats peeled back - its a good inch thick between the bark and the exposed trunk.

 

Any ideas what has caused it and is it a danger???

[VEG]

Has she had a fire in the garden to burn waste?

[rovers90]

No, no fires in the garden. The tree was pruned and reduced by a tree surgeon about two years ago and it seems to have happened since then.

[scotspine1]

Looks like Euc gunnii - the split? - possibly frost damage/drought causing the bark to contract due to lack of moisture, tree is attempting to seal the wound with new wood which you can see just under the bark in the 2nd pic. Keep a lookout for the foliage dying off or becoming discoloured. The pruning probably wont have helped, not because you shouldn't prune Eucs but because we've had two exceptionally cold periods in the last 2/3 years - the pruning wounds and loss of foliage from pruning wont have helped the tree in it's ability to thrive.