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Removing decay from a tree
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Posted by
gryd Trumbull, CT Z6 (
My Page) on
Sat, Jul 14, 12 at 17:31
| I had a wooded area of my property cleaned by having some non-salvageable trees taken down as well as a few others. After the job was complete I found 3 other trees with a good amount of rot. Before doing my research I carved away the rot so now it is down to hard, non-rotted wood. I was going to fill them but now I've read that's not the route to take. In fact I've read that carving away at the rot was not something I should have done either. It's too late for that so my question is there anything I should do now? Will my trees heal over in those sections? Did I make a terrible mistake? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Removing decay from a tree
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| You can't get any useful advice without sending pictures and letting us know what kind of trees they are. |
RE: Removing decay from a tree
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| We're not seeing what you are, gryd, so we can't tell you much. Trees don't heal, they wall off damaged areas with new growth and other arcane things outside the scope of this thread. Beyond providing for the basic necessities of life, which in this case would mean adequately moist soil, no, there's nothing you can do. BTW, out in the woods, the wind blows, deer and other critters munch, and sometimes when a tree falls in that woods, it not only makes a sound, but it hits its neighbors and breaks them up too. And this has gone on for millennia. What I'm trying to say is, trees would not have covered the planet if they were waiting for we humans to come along and save them! They have internal mechanisms to deal with such events and so long as they are of sufficient vigor, they will do so. +oM |
RE: Removing decay from a tree
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- Posted by gryd Trumbull, CT Z6 (My Page) on
Sat, Jul 14, 12 at 18:19
| The trees are maples. I'll get a photo posted by tomorrow. |
RE: Removing decay from a tree
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- Posted by gryd Trumbull, CT Z6 (My Page) on
Sat, Jul 14, 12 at 19:14
| Here's one of the maples. |
RE: Removing decay from a tree
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- Posted by gryd Trumbull, CT Z6 (My Page) on
Sat, Jul 14, 12 at 19:16
| Here is another one of the maples. There is still plenty left to the girth of this tree. |
RE: Removing decay from a tree
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| oh my put little statues in there.. and start saving for removal .. ken ps: are you a dentist???? |
RE: Removing decay from a tree
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| Oh my! Forgive me, but I'd have to go to Home Depot, get a paneled stock kitchen cabinet door and rework it to size for picture #2. |
RE: Removing decay from a tree
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| I think you may have made it worse... |
RE: Removing decay from a tree
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- Posted by gryd Trumbull, CT Z6 (My Page) on
Sat, Jul 14, 12 at 21:45
| Do you guys think it may heal over. There's an awful lot of tree surrounding that hole. I'd like to see it last a few more years. I just figured all the rot that was there was not a good thing. I guess I was wrong. |
RE: Removing decay from a tree
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| As for healing over, I don't think so. You may have opened the way for more extensive rotting - water is really going to collect in there along with debris from squirrels, chipmunks, etc. The tree tissue layers that would be needed for regeneration seem to be gone. I'm no expert, but my money is on goner. |
RE: Removing decay from a tree
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| Oh man. You did some work. It might have helped. I swear a 2x4 out in the open will last longer thanone with a rotting board up against it. One coated in Poly or Thompson's also outlast the untreatdd one. Just ask anyone here with a deck. Trees have that live layer no doubt some sealants do it harm. If them trees are out in the open let em be. Near your home remove them. As an experiment I would apply sealant to half the wound on each tree and see if that side recovered any faster or slower than the other. |
RE: Removing decay from a tree
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| Well, I am an expert of sorts, and I can safely tell you that one of the hardest things for a tree to deal with is the reopening of wounds that have started to close. Like what you've done there. See the tissue that looks like it was growing in a roll around the edge of the wound? That's callus tissue and is one of the means by which trees close off wounds. Tree wounds never "heal". But they can seal up with new tissue, if allowed to do so. Now, most of that callus has been removed. So as much as I hate to say it, there's simply no question, you've made it quite a bit worse with your carving. Again, if trees had evolved to need such, they'd have developed little arms with chisels. I know it looks like I'm yelling at you, OP, but seriously, if you do like trees and care about them, which it seems you do, take this opportunity to do some learning. +oM |
RE: Removing decay from a tree
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- Posted by ronr z6 ct (My Page) on
Sat, Jul 14, 12 at 23:34
| hey gryd, I happen to be one of the few people that actually believe that working on tree rot can be beneficial to trees. Ive been working with trees for about 27 years now and doing a fair bit of cavity work for well over 10, with very good results so far. It is in my opinion that if tree rot is dealt with properly it can be beneficial. Right off the bat it looks like you where a little to aggresive with your rot removal, I almost never use a chainsaw for that, usually just hand tools so as not to cut into the undamaged, compartmentalized wood. Its very difficult to assess the long term prognosis of these trees without physically being there to see (and feel) exactly whats going on with your trees specifically. That being said, it just so happens I'm only about 1/2 hour away from you (Milford) so if you'd like me to take a look at it I'd be happy to, you can reach me at 203-257-9099...just leave me a message and I'll call you back. And for the sake of this websites policies this would be a pro bono situation, I'm not trying to solicit my business here, I just want to help you out with your trees, and yes I am a state licensed arborist. |
RE: Removing decay from a tree
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- Posted by gryd Trumbull, CT Z6 (My Page) on
Sun, Jul 15, 12 at 8:14
| Thanks Ron. I may take you up on your offer. |
RE: Removing decay from a tree
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| ron, next time....invite the poster to email you privately. That way, no one could raise their eyebrows at you posting your phone number and credentials for all to see. gryd, did you have heavy equipment running all around over the root system of these trees? |
RE: Removing decay from a tree
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- Posted by gryd Trumbull, CT Z6 (My Page) on
Sun, Jul 15, 12 at 9:08
| No heavy equipment running around the root system of these trees. |
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