A retired forester in Asheville changed how I look at bark splits

Ruby Perry · 2026-03-15T08:30:11.801064+00:00

I was checking a big white oak in a client's yard about six months ago, and the homeowner's dad, a guy who used to work for the forest service, came out to watch. He pointed at a vertical crack I was worried about and said, 'That one's just a seam from a dry spring, but see how it's tight? The ones that get you are the ones that look like a smile.' He showed me a few old 'smile' splits on other trees that had started to cup outward. I've used that simple check on maybe two dozen jobs since then, and it's saved me from overreacting a few times. Has anyone else picked up a quick visual rule like that from an old timer?

burns.ruby6mo ago

How do you tell the difference between a harmless seam and a real crack then? I've found the "smile" thing can miss issues too. A tight seam on the sunny side of a tree can hide a lot of rot behind it, especially if water gets in and freezes. The shape is a clue, but it's not the whole story for me.

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briancampbell6mo ago

So what's your full process then?

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blair_lane7mo ago

Wow, that's a great tip but I've actually seen tight seams that were a real problem.

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jones.alice7mo ago

What makes a tight seam turn into a real problem?

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