Injured Sugar Maple

[benede60]

Hi,

I just took down a big Black Cherry, and it bumped into this Sugar Maple on the way down. It looks to me like only the bark is damaged, but it DID bring it down to the sap wood. Sap wood seems to be undamaged.

I very much wish for the maple to survive, and don't want anything worse to happen to it. Do I need to do anything to the wound, or should I just let it ride?

I've heard of pruning compound, but I don't know if it's applicable here.

I was also careless when bucking the Cherry, and nicked the bottom of the Maple a little bit.

Sincerely,
Kevin

 

[old CB]

While you don't want to cause injury like that, it does happen. Your maple will probably thrive. There's very little chance that that swipe to the bark will result in any lasting damage.

Once upon a time people painted that black stuff on exposed wood, but it was found to do nothing for the tree.

There's nothing you need do for the maple. It's a flesh wound, like you getting thrown from a bicycle and getting road rash. It'll heal.

 

[ATH]

Agree...I'd leave it alone.

 

[benede60]

Thanks for the advice!

To be honest, I've gotten alternate advice than what you both have shared. The other person recommended that I use compound and a "patch". He said it's basically an Ace bandage for a tree.

If you wouldn't mind, would you please take a moment and elucidate your advice so that I know the reasoning behind it? Or perhaps, if you are able to, please explain what the compound does (or claims to do).

Please don't think I'm arguing against your advice; I am likely to leave it alone, as my intuition suggested that initially and you confirmed it. But as an enthusiast, I always love the attainment of additional knowledge in this area.

Thank you,
Kevin

 

[ATH]

The "compound" does nothing. You could try to reattach bark immediately after the damage is done, but by now it is too late. There are also a few specific circumstances where you want to protect fresh wounds from disease carrying insects (dutch elm disease and bark beetles for elm trees and oak wilt spread by nitidulid beetles in oak....this is maple) - again it would be too late for those as well.

Leaving the wound exposed to oxygen triggers the tree's natural responses. Sealing it delays those. Further, if it is wrapped, you will be making that area more hospitable for insects, disease and decay fungi.

And "Ace bandage" implies structural support. A minor bark wound on that tree is of no immediate structural consequence. In the long term, the decay associated with that could weaken the tree. People insist "well, there MUST be something you can do to stop that decay". Leaving it exposed to dry is the best thing. My response is "if I could permanently stop that from rotting, I could stop your deck and fence from rotting. If I could permanently stop your deck and fence from rotting, you couldn't afford me".

If you want to read more about not dressing tree wounds,, look at University sites, not marketing sites.

Leave it alone.

 

[benede60]

Thank you very much!