Rescue for bark-stripped maple?

14 years ago

I have a silver maple that I planted last year. This winter some deer came and either rubbed or ate a fair bunch of the bark off its trunk. This spring it leafed out fine, and I was hoping the bark would just scab over and heal itself. So far though, it hasn't. Now that the summer heat has set in, the tree has been looking quite wilted, and a few branches have even lost their leaves. I've been watering it deeply at least once a week, but as soon as it gets hot, it looks wilted again. I'm guessing it might be loosing a lot of moisture through the raw trunk.

Is there any way to save this tree? Or do I have to watch it slowly defoliate and die?

Comments (3)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years ago
you dont have to watch it.. cut it down ...

healing over.. can take years, depending on the injury ...

you fail to state how big the wound is.. in relation to the size of the tree ... any chance of a picture ...

are we taking 90% of the circumference??? give us a few more specific facts ...

given its a maple ... it will probably sprout from below the wound ... if the top becomes terminal ... whether or not you will allow that to happen is up to you ...

ken
weeper_11
Original Author
14 years ago
The stripped bark probably goes about 90% of the way around. So I'm not sure if that is enough to girdle a young tree or not. I'm guessing if it is wilting like it is, it's a gonner. The bark stripped area covers probably a third of the entire trunk.

I've noticed that it does have a small shoot at the base of the trunk. So if I left it and later pruned off the main trunk, I would have a clump for silver maple instead of a standard? Would there be any way I could train a new leader?

Would allowing the tree to grow from shoots make it a weaker tree?
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Dan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
14 years ago
The stripped bark probably goes about 90% of the way around. So I'm not sure if that is enough to girdle a young tree or not.

Probably. Not 100% but more like 97.875%. The 2.125% is in hopes all the stars and spirits align and your sacrifice to the tree gods is heard and you haven't harmed any sprites in your life. ;o)

Dan