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janice742

Can I put anything on a fresh cut of a tree

Janice742
10 years ago

We cut a few bottom branches from our maple tree. The cut areas are very exposed and I don't like the way they look. Can we apply something to this to lessen the fresh wood against the bark?

Comments (14)

  • wisconsitom
    10 years ago

    You can, but should not. But your post contains within it a clue as to how these useless items-wound dressings- became so popular. You said you don't like how it looks and therein lies the only value of tree wound dressings-to make the person feel better. They are of no value to the tree.

    Trees evolved through the millenia to withstand the occasional loss of branches, often due to much less careful or kind reasons than a sharp pruning saw. Things like winds, ice storms, etc. can break off a branch and usually, there's no person nearby to place paint of some kind on that branch stub. And yes, decay often will set in, particularly if the tree's own defensive zone-the branch collar-has been torn into. But hopefully, in your pruning work, you paid attention to this swollen area and left it undamaged as you removed the branches. In any case, wound paint would do nothing to prevent such decay.

    So no, I'd not apply anything to these wounds. Plus, in a short period of time, they will lose their bright, white coloration and fade into inconspicuousness.

    +oM

  • rosiew
    10 years ago

    I limbed up three leyland cypresses last year. The cuts are still very evident. I've considered a light coating of brown and or black shoe polish. Is it possible this could harm the tree??

  • Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
    10 years ago

    It COULD harm the tree. Then again grafters use grafting wax. This is an old debate here.

    On some forums I am reminded about sealing out oak blights and CODIT.

    Regardless, I am off the opinion in non oaks if you wait till the would wood hardens little will transfer into the live portions of the tree so it is safer to seal then. In oaks you might want to consider doing it quicker.

    And I would counter despite millions of years of evolution we are best off treating larger wounds in plants and animals.

  • brandon7 TN_zone7
    10 years ago

    Typical tree wound dressing has been proven to be harmful or at least useless in the vast majority of cases. A light coating of 50% watered down latex paint, applied to the wound once it dries off, probably won't do much harm if you just can't bare the look of the exposed wood. As Tom indicated, the paint would not help the tree, but some might consider it a visual "necessity" (I wouldn't).

  • joeinmo 6b-7a
    10 years ago

    depending on how big of an area, try this

    transpore breathable surgical tape

    try the link

    Here is a link that might be useful: transpore tape

  • brandon7 TN_zone7
    10 years ago

    "depending on how big of an area, try this...transpore breathable surgical tape"

    Surely that was meant as a joke?

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    10 years ago

    God made trees to heal themselves ...

    tree scientists call it something else..

    you are not God... dont try to outwit him/her ... and think you can come up with a better idea ...

    it is called.. loving your tree to death ...

    a clean proper cut is your only responsibility ... hope you got that part right ...

    ANYTHING you do... is liable to trap moisture.. instead of nature keeping it dry .... and wet wood rots ..... thats my bottom line ...

    ken

  • Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
    10 years ago

    Ken, that is generally true, especially for small pruning cuts. There are exceptions and the oaks bring us one. Has something to do with seasonal spread of one of their diseases.

    To be troublesome I will volunteer I have an acer rubrum which I pruned and the darned thing caught some canker. I had to go back and make a bigger cut to remove the rot and now it is once again trying to encapsulate the wood. Of course I used hydrogen peroxide to pre clean my cutting tools and actually cleaned the exposed heartwood near the cut also.

    The darned ants love that tree. I treated it with an insecticide meant for fruit trees and no ants for months at a time. Now if I polyseal that dry cracking wood that lets in moisture I bet that would lessen the amount of poison I am putting in that tree for the next three years.

    Is CODIT (Compartilization of Decay in Trees) what you are thinking of? Dr Shigo?

    Here is a link that might be useful: wiki

  • joeinmo 6b-7a
    10 years ago

    Brandon,

    Transpore breathable surgical tape
    No joke, it lets in air and allows the tree to breath, but keeps out organisms that might harm the tree. Especially good on smaller trees with sun scald or small cuts. It won't stick to the bark and harm the tree when you pull it off, but it's waterproof and very flexible.

    I have used it a lot of times, picked it up from a local nursery.

    Obviously,

    This is not something you would use on older, heavy barked areas of trees

    The main reason you wouldn't put a tape or cloth or even paint on or around branches or trunks is because it doesn't breath and it does more harm than good and actually takes longer to heal, however the transpore is made for your skin, it has incredible breathing characteristics and helps small areas heal faster and healthier by keeping those damaged area free of organisms.

  • nick_b79
    10 years ago

    I've read that it MIGHT be a good idea to rub a handful of soil from the base of the tree on the cut after it's made. The idea being that you innoculate the wound with beneficial microbes and fungi that promote healing. However, others seem to disagree.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Soil as a wound dressing

  • gardener365
    10 years ago

    1.5 tsp of hydrogen peroxide per cup of water in a mist bottle is good for fresh wounds. When diluted hydrogen peroxide has a lot of uses. See link.

    Dax

    Here is a link that might be useful: Gardening with Hydrogen Peroxide

  • botann
    10 years ago

    Nick, I've been doing that for years and have had no problems despite what the literature says. I'm sure there are certain trees that this can't be done to, but I haven't run across them so far.
    I should say I have very little experience with Oaks. They are mainly used as street and parking lot trees here.
    Mike

  • rosiew
    10 years ago

    Thanks much for this info, gardener. I bought a fresh bottle of peroxide last week and have been looking at it, wondering why I got it. Silly me.

    botann, which poster is Nick? I want to read what you say you do.

  • brandon7 TN_zone7
    10 years ago

    I would be equally likely to rub dirt in a cut on my own body as I would to rub it on tree's wound. This is so counter to my thinking that I can't imagine where the idea even came from. Verticillium wilt, mentioned in Nick's (nick_b79) link, is only one of the many pathogens that survive just fine in the soil along with the "beneficial microbes and fungi". The tree's bark (like our skin) provides protection from pathogens. Wounds allow them to enter. Rubbing dirt in the wound would greatly aid in contaminating the area.

    I don't know if there have been any studies showing benefit from hydrogen peroxide on tree wounds, but it makes sense. I've seen hydrogen peroxide used in grafting.

    This post was edited by brandon7 on Sat, Oct 19, 13 at 12:04