Q.: My Japanese maple is about 20 years old now. The trunk is divided and I have thought of securing the two trunks together with something because of the extra weight of snow and ice in the winter.

Tree wraps may be recommended for the trunk of young, thinned bark trees to prevent sunscald injury. However, there are few studies that show they help and some that show they may cause more harm.

Most people worry about frost killing their trees in January. Far fewer think about what a relentless July sun can do to bark ...