The thin strip is the only connection to transport food production from the top of the plant to the root system. The layers of xylem and phloem have been mostly destroyed. One way to kill a tree is to strip the bark around it to prevent carbohydrate storage from the foliage to be stored into the roots for the next season. Sounds like it is a gonner.

The tree may actually leaf out next year from what has all ready been stored, but will run out of food and fizzle. Sorry to be the barer of bad news.

hortster

That would be bearer...need to learn how to spel.

hortster

I agree with Hortster, it sounds like there's little hope for your tree, long-term. Even if the small strip did allow the tree to hang on for a brief while, the tree isn't going to be worth keeping.

Applying Saran wrap can actually help reduce the severity of a large wound if applied very soon after the wound occurs and left in place for only a brief time (like a week or so). Applying it in this situation and at this late time will do nothing except maybe encourage rot. Reapplying dead bark is contraindicated.

thank you all very much for the replies.

I have a question... what if I was able to somehow make the exposed bark sensitive again (removing the hardened outer film?) and was able to get a strip of live bark from another birch tree to apply?

In theory, would that work?

Jim

Google 'bridge graft' (I think that's what you are thinking of).

Could you post a picture? Most birches peel off their bark easily and in layers. It's possible the live layer is still intact or capable of healing and your tree isn't ringed at all. A bad sign (sort of) would be if the thin bridge of remaining bark is rapidly bulking up to carry more fluids... If it still looks about the same as the rest of the bark you might not have a problem at all.

picture #1

picture 2

If only the top layer of birch bark is missing, like in this case, the tree should survive. My only concern is the crack in the bark in left side of the last pic.

In old times the white parts of birch bark was used for a lot of purposes and what we see in your pics is what the trees looked like after harvest. No trees died from that, but they never got the white bark back again

Hmmm, those pictures have me more confused about exactly what happened. They sure don't seem to match what I expected to see based on the text of the original post. The first new picture is useless to me and the second has me switching back and forth (every time I see it) about exactly what I'm seeing.

thank you all so much. I guess I should have given more clarity to the pictures. lol

In a fit of freak out we put wet saran wrap around the tree. Im gald to hear that at least a few people seem to think the tree is ok.

Im not sure about the cracks, but looking at them today .... frost cracks? Besides the evident need to get out of our care, does the tree need any attention?

thank you all again. I really do appreciate it.

It looks like the tree will be fine and you can pull off the Saran wrap.... Unless the dead leaves in the first picture mean something else is going on!
The cracks are normal, on birches when the outer bark is pulled off you'll often get that cracking. Over the years it will get worse but its just a different type of bark, more like a scar, so just just like huggorm said -no big deal.
When you say ringed on a tree forum it usually means a sure death, but it's not as easy to do as it sounds. Rabbits, voles, and mice are gifted tree ringers but people aren't always as successful. I've ringed a couple maples repeatedly and they still manage to retain enough living cells to put on a new bark layer.