Forum:

trees

Young tree with bark stripped off. What can I do?

Liv Smith

steward

Posts: 4082

Location: Pacific North West

1911

I like...

posted 4 years ago

1
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Young maple tree, maybe 10 or 15 ft tall, just got its bark stripped by naughty goats.

Is there anything I could do, wrapping it in something, or some other creative idea, to save it?

ETA, I think picture is sideways, sorry, I can’t fix it right now, and have to run.

Thank you☺️

5FDA727D-D84D-412E-92F8-E8789C49D23D.jpeg

The best gardening course: https://gardenmastercourse.com
Permies.com FAQ

Trace Oswald

pollinator

Posts: 3897

Location: 4b

1409

I like...

posted 4 years ago

2
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Liv Smith wrote:Young maple tree, maybe 10 or 15 ft tall, just got its bark stripped by naughty goats.

Is there anything I could do, wrapping it in something, or some other creative idea, to save it?

ETA, I think picture is sideways, sorry, I can’t fix it right now, and have to run.

Thank you☺️

Since the tree looks to have intact bark on one side, I wouldn't do anything. Trees generally survive that type of thing pretty easily.

A build too cool to miss:Mike's GreenhouseA great example:Joseph's Garden
All the soil info you'll ever need:
Redhawk's excellent soil-building series

PEP - BB5 Badge (verified skill)
Skill verified by Ash Jackson

animal care - air badge (verified skill)
Skill verified by Ash Jackson

gardening - air badge (verified skill)
Skill verified by Ash Jackson

woodland care - air badge (verified skill)
Skill verified by Ash Jackson

commerce - air badge (verified skill)
Skill verified by Ash Jackson

Douglas Alpenstock

master pollinator

Posts: 5317

Location: Canadian Prairies - Zone 3b

1451

posted 4 years ago

2
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

It looks only half stripped. The odds are very good that it will survive. The word these days is: don't do a thing. The tree will heal itself. Putting "stuff" on it just creates a habitat for nasties.

I have had apple trees girded 60% around by mice and they came back stronger than ever, and eventually healed the entire wound over.

Last winter a porcupine got at another apple tree and took more than half the bark. (The porcupine returned; we had a chat.) We pruned the damaged portion back to reduce the stress on the tree, but it's leafing and flowering. Time will tell, but it feels right.

Of course, all of this assumes that you will keep the goats away from it in the future.

Liv Smith

steward

Posts: 4082

Location: Pacific North West

1911

I like...

posted 4 years ago

1
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:

(The porcupine returned; we had a chat.)

That is cute. Hopefully, porcupine lived to see another day?😁

Thank you for your input.

The tree is somewhat stressed out by other things around it, and it met the same naughty goats before in its life. I would like to help it, especially since I didn’t do anything for it, it just sprouted there on its own. I love when trees grow by themselves like that.

The best gardening course: https://gardenmastercourse.com
Permies.com FAQ

Marco Banks

gardener

Posts: 1774

Location: Los Angeles, CA

564

I like...

posted 4 years ago

1
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

My hunch is that your tree is a goner. That's a lot of trauma for a tree to endure, and even if it makes it, that bare patch will likely become a pathway for fungi to enter the tree.

So, to answer your question "What can I do?", I say cut it down and keep it as a reminder to power-up an electric fence every time the goats are near anything of value.

"The rule of no realm is mine. But all worthy things that are in peril as the world now stands, these are my care. And for my part, I shall not wholly fail in my task if anything that passes through this night can still grow fairer or bear fruit and flower again in days to come. For I too am a steward. Did you not know?" Gandolf

Douglas Alpenstock

master pollinator

Posts: 5317

Location: Canadian Prairies - Zone 3b

1451

posted 4 years ago

2
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Aha! I propose that Marco and I have a running bet.

If the the tree dies, I will donate 10 lbs. of potatoes to the local food bank.

If Marco takes the bet, and the tree survives, the "forfeit" will be of his own choosing.

It doesn't really matter, of course, and I'll donate the potatoes anyway. I just want to know how the story ends!

Eric Thompson

pollinator

Posts: 508

Location: Longview, WA - USA

I like...

posted 4 years ago

2
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

As long as the tree isn't ringed all the way around it should recover fine. I have had young trees stripped of all but a 1/4" strip of bark connecting top and bottom and they did pretty good.

For protection, I am a big fan of the plastic tree tubes = those are easiest to install and guard against gotas, sheep, and deer horns...

Joylynn Hardesty

master pollinator

Posts: 5100

Location: Due to winter mortality, I stubbornly state, zone 7a Tennessee

2166

I like...

posted 4 years ago

2
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

I think I've seen Dr. Redhawk reccomend covering the wound with Elmer's glue to keep out infections. Maybe an application of an antibiotic tea first? I couldn't find the post quickly.

'What we do now echoes in eternity.' Marcus Aurelius
How Permies Works Dr. Redhawk's Epic Soil Series

Marco Banks

gardener

Posts: 1774

Location: Los Angeles, CA

564

I like...

posted 4 years ago

6
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:Aha! I propose that Marco and I have a running bet.

If the the tree dies, I will donate 10 lbs. of potatoes to the local food bank.

If Marco takes the bet, and the tree survives, the "forfeit" will be of his own choosing.

It doesn't really matter, of course, and I'll donate the potatoes anyway. I just want to know how the story ends!

What's your timeline? Yes, it'll "survive" for a few years, but the gap between survive and thrive is wide enough to drive a truck through.

But I'd be thrilled to take that bet, with a pledge to double your food contribution. May I donate sweet potatoes, as they grow really well here, while "Irish" potatoes don't do so well. If that tree is alive in 3 years, regardless of it's condition, I'll drive 20# of sweet potatoes over to a men's shelter a few miles away from my place.

You know what goes good with roasted sweet potatoes? Roasted goat. Ohhh . . .

Ellendra Nauriel

pollinator

Posts: 820

Location: South-central Wisconsin

330

posted 4 years ago

2
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

I'm having trouble seeing the photo, so this is just general advice. Depending on the shape of the stripped area, a bridge graft might help. Take some strips of inner bark from a sacrificial branch, and graft one end below the girdle, and the other above, creating a bridge so nutrients can get across. If the girdle is big (goat damage vs. mouse damage), you may want to use a pliable twig for the bridge instead of a strip of bark, but the idea is the same. It just needs living tissue to carry nutrients across that gap. The more bridges you can provide, the better.

Amelia Hyruhm

Posts: 2

posted 3 years ago

Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Hi! What I have done in such cases is make a think clay and water paste and smear it over the wound whereafter I bandaged it, and then surrounded the trunk with bamboo poles secured around it with cable ties. Did this with my olive, orange, lemon and apricot trees after having been mauled. Have apricot this year and the olive is fine. The citrus needs more time to recover it seems.

Rocket Mass Heater Plans: Annex 6" L-shaped Bench by Ernie and Erica

will be released to subscribers in: soon!

click here for details