Rot developed in a previously trimmed branch stump

[Greg Walsh]

Hello,
Back in 2011 prior to our "October Snowstorm" I trimmed a large limb (about 12" in diameter) off of the large maple on the south side of our property. I didn't know what I was doing so I made one cut about 18" away from the trunk to drop the branch. Of course it tore some of the bark off of the underside of the stump that remained and it never really healed well. This past weekend I was trimming some other branches and I thought I'd trim this 2011 stump back within a couple inches of the trunk. When I did, I saw that the center of the stump had some rot running straight into it and carpenter ants crawling out.

My question is, should I dig out the rotted wood (I think it only goes in a couple of inches) and seal it with some product appropriate to this situation or just leave it?

Thanks!

 

[Raintree]

Leave it alone and put the saw away, your trees will be grateful. Note, "trimming" = small proper pruning cuts. ''Hacking'' = 12" cuts on your maple.

 

[Mad Professor]

You need to do an undercut before you drop the branch with a topcut. That prevents the splitting/bark peeling off. Then you trim the branch stump back to the " collar" of the branch.

 

[ATH]

By now, you should be able to see where the branch collar is. that will still be live tissue while the branch itself is dead. Prune the dead off as close as you can get to that live tissue without cutting into it.

https://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/woody/pruning-cuts.shtml

Don't worry about the rot.