How to Treat Damaged Tree Bark
Even after a tree's trunk rots and declines in health, the tree will continue to produce a green canopy of leaves for a number of years if the bark is intact. But when a tree's bark is damaged, the tree's health may quickly decline. Trees cannot heal the way humans can. Instead a tree will attempt to wall away the damaged parts and then continue to generate new tissue to form a callus around the wound to prevent infection and decay. Proper care of damaged bark encourages the development of calluses and wound closure. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Assess the damage to the tree to determine its extent. If a tree's bark is more than 30 to 50 percent removed, the tree may be damaged beyond repair.
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Cut away ragged bark with a chisel or sharp knife and smooth out the edges of the bark. Remove only loose bark at this time.
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Shape the bark opening so that it resembles a football standing on its end. Do not remove too much live bark or expose more of the trunk than you have to.
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Tips & Warnings
Refrain from applying a wound dressing to the tree's exposed trunk. Wound dressings such as paint or tar may interfere with the tree's natural ability to seal.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit curved tree trunk image by Alexey Chesnokov from Fotolia.com
Comments
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thanks for information about trying to put tree bark back onto the tree, we've tried it after our puppy had a wonderful time today removing nearly every piece from our apple tree, nothing to loose!
