Below are photographs of 2 quince tree and one weeping willow.
Since last year, all 3 trees have sustained some damage to the trunks / branches / bark.
Can anyone advise:
What has caused the issues?
Is it serious?
Can I prevent future occurrences?
How should I best repair the damage?
Deer? If low down, rabbits?
Deer do two things - strip the bark and also use the trunks to rub their antlers against.
I have to put stakes (usually 3 is enough, sometimes 4 if the tree is bushy) round every single one of our young trees and then I wrap chicken wire fencing round the stakes and staple it to the stakes. I leave plenty of space so the tree can grow. I choose 1.5 m high fencing
Its not deer: the garden is totally enclosed as in the middle of a small town.
I thought about rabbits, but the only ones that I’ve seen nearby are the ones that my neighbour breeds for the pot.
Then I hate to suggest it - mowing or strimming too close?
I do the mowing and strimming, so definitely not me.
Two of the photos look like some sort of damage mechanical or otherwise? The second photo may be canker.
To me all three look like a canker of one sort or another. Feed the trees, and make sure they are watered as necessary this year and cross your fingers that these wounds heal. Don’t follow the advice of some ro paint over them, that will just make it worse. You can spray with bordeaux mixture to stop the canker spreading to other trees,
Thanks - I’ll give that a go.
Wondering whether I should wrap the ‘wounds’ in hessian for protection?
I know this doesn’t help much but we’ve noticed a lot of trees seem to be under stress maybe from the drought last year
Hessian or burlap could help, especially against sun. But not so tight or so many wraps that there is no air.
The tree in the second photo, if the canker hasn’t spread all round I’d pair back the bark and cambium layer with a sharp knife to healthy wood, then cover with grafting wax or you can use Vaseline.
The willow I’d cut the branch and seal the cut with Vaseline. Rap with hessian not too tightly and take off in the Autumn.
Have you had any friends / family round with kids with pen knives?
Thanks - excellent advice.
No kids or family with pen knives.
From my experience grafting wax is too much of a sealant for canker.
That’s the idea to seal the wound to stop further infection after pairing back to healthy wood, if the canker isn’t too far advanced the cambium will grow back and crack the wax just like grafting.
I don’t hold much hope for the second tree, hopefully it can be saved.
In this case I’d just use Vaseline.
