I left my fruit tree trunks bare all winter just because I liked the natural bark: in March, when I ran my hand down the south-west side, I understood what the low sun had been doing
A strip of dead bark running up your tree’s southwest side? That’s sunscald—a hidden winter injury caused by extreme temperature swings on sun-exposed bark. Orchardists have known the fix for over a century, but many gardeners are still learning it the hard way.