How to Clean and Treat Wounds on Trees

Trees sustain injury for a variety of reasons - ice forms in the branches and causes them to break under the extra load, driving accidents injure bark, or animals strip bark for food or nesting material. Whatever the reason, untreated wounds on trees are an open invitation to insects and disease problems.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Garden Shears
• Pole Pruner
• Chain Saws
• Insulation
• Pruning Saws
• Safety Goggles
• Insulation
• Safety Goggles

1. Clean the injury the best you can by removing any ragged bark or splintered wood. In the case of trunk wound, cut away the bark surrounding the injury with a knife, saw or garden shears so that the edges are as even and straight as possible.

2. Remove broken limbs close, but not flush, to the trunk. Leave the branching collar in tact so that the wound can heal quickly. (The branching collar is the wrinkled bark at the base of a branch nearest to the trunk. If you look closely, you will notice that it looks different than the rest of the bark on the branch.)

3. Remove large branches that have partially broken away from the main trunk by cutting away the broken section just past the break to relieve the stress on the branch. Next, make a cut a few inches out from the main trunk on the underside of the broken branch; this will prevent the bark from tearing away from the main trunk when the branch falls. Make the last cut close to the trunk so that the branching collar is intact.

Tips & Warnings

• If the tree has a hollow cavity, remove as much of the rotten wood as possible from inside with a chisel. Fill the cavity with foam insulation instead of concrete, as was the practice in the past. If you ever have to cut the tree down, a saw will cut through the insulation much easier than through concrete.
• Wear eye protection when using a chain saw to prevent injury from flying wood chips.

[Bradley]

on 7/23/2007 How do I stop sap leaking from a pine tree after cutting limbs

[Bradley]

on 7/23/2007 how do i stop a pine tree from dripping sap from cut off limps