Maple rehab after traumatic move..

mclean · September 16, 2015, 12:49:47 AM

I just pulled up 2 30+ foot tall red maple trees. I pulled them out with about 10ft root balls. While pushing I used a large strap as a bumper to push it over then lift it once it was loose. The bark under this strap was peeled off completely on one, and 80% on the 2nd.

I've read that grafting bark or young sticks can restore the flow, and save the tree. Is this something anyone has had success doing to help a tree thats been girdled?

Trees have a chance? or should I save the time and just chip them?

mclean · September 16, 2015, 01:01:42 AM

Here's what I'm working with..

beenthere · September 16, 2015, 04:14:20 AM

I would suspect they are doomed.
Sounds like the bark slipped off at the cambium,,, the thin layer of growing cells between the bark and the wood.

Can't tell much from your pics, but the description sounds fatal to the trees.

brendonv · September 16, 2015, 06:56:29 AM

Yep. Kinda like slitting it's throat. It'll live on stored energy for a year but will be a goner.

mesquite buckeye · September 16, 2015, 11:12:18 AM

Ouch. Awful rough way to move a tree. :(

It can be done. Here is a citrus tree I bridge grafted probably around 30 years ago.

You can see the bulges where the shoots were grafted to the top and sides. Note that the exposed trunk is now rotting away and the tree will eventually become hollow. There is sufficient strength in the live material to keep it going for a long time.

You have 2 problems. Traumatic injury to the root system and barking on the trunk. If you really want to try this you need to get the trees in the ground yesterday and make sure you water them in and keep them provided with adequate water until they reestablish. The completely barked tree will be harder to save. Cut shoots long enough to bridge the gap in the bark. Trim the ends at an angle so that you can line up the cambium with the trunk cambium. Often it works better if you cut the shoots a little extra long so that you can put a bit of pressure on the ends from the tension. Often the ends are secured with a small nail. It might be smart to predrill to keep the stick from splitting. Cover grafts and rough ends of the trunk bark with grafting wax, or if you can't get that you can use something like Treeheal, which is an asphalt water mix. Don't put the shoots in upside down or people will think you are stupid. Don't ask how I know this. You should have at least 3 good grafts evenly spaced around the trunk to treat the bare trunked tree. 2 should be enough for the one with a live strip of bark. If you only get one to take, no problem. You can go back and connect suckers that form from the stump and connect them to the top just like you would a free stick. That is how I did the citrus.

Bridge grafting was invented during WWI as many trees had their lower bark was blown off from explosives landing nearby. Lots of trees were saved in this way.

Good luck. ;D 8) 8) 8)

grassfed · September 16, 2015, 02:51:43 PM

Around here Red Maples stump sprout like mad; the only way to kill them is to kill the roots. I would just plant what you have asap and see what happens next year. If you killed the tree but the roots are alive it will sprout. If the roots are dead then the whole thing is dead anyway. If the tree is still viable then it will recover on its own. If it sprouts and the old bole is dead cut it down and the root system will support the sprout; it should grow fast. I would not go to extreme effort but I would not just give up either. Sugar Maples can survive shallow girdling pretty well they can recover from some heavy porcupine damage. Red maples seem to get whacked by deer scraping and they tend to resprout when the damage gets severe. They will never be veneer trees but they could work if you want some shade or windbreak.

sprucebunny · September 16, 2015, 05:13:12 PM

Moose eat the bark off red maple and they live....

I've used clear packing tape to hold skinned bark on hemlock trees and you can't even tell anything happened to them.

bucknwfl · September 16, 2015, 07:05:53 PM

If it was just skint bark they might have a chance and depending on location and care they might make it. The major problem is the missing root mass. Those roots will never support a tree that size. Every minute it is out of the ground it is loosing critical moisture. The leaves are already starting to turn. Transpiration is taking its toll

mclean · September 16, 2015, 07:22:49 PM

It was part of a job, so I didn't have the luxury of spending time being careful (hourly bid). The people paying didn't care if the trees lived.. The job was close enough to my yard that it seemed feasible. I got a pretty good root clump, but yes theres a bunch still in the yard under the lawn. I left them on a soaker hose last night and put them in a field this morning. All went smoothly, no new damage.. Then soaked them again.

I grafted about 20 different size branches hoping some may take on each. I used rooting gel on a couple. Covered the joints with scotch masking tape then sprayed that tree asphalt stuff on the wounds.

It's a long shot, but maybe?

I'll get some photos of my surgical work..