We’ve got a beautiful American Elm in our back yard that has a nasty looking gash in the trunk. I was wondering if there were any resident tree experts that might be able to suggest a course of action to possibly cure this. Here’s a picture.
The tree is about 60’ tall and I’m worried that if this gets worse, it’s going to fall over The wood inside the cut is damp and somewhat greenish looking. We’ve had the tree trimmed, and had several deep root feedings, but the condition hasn’t cleared up. The one self-styled ‘tree doctor’ (who charged $60.00 for his diagnosis) flatly said “Cut it down”. That was the extent of his advice…
Any suggestions/professional help would be appreciated!
That’s not a gash. It’s a rotted area. It’s bad enough that it will always compromise the trees integrety in a bad storm or wind. I would recomend it’s removal also. Since yo don’t plan on doing that, you need to coat what is there with a protective layer to stop the deacaying into the heart wood. Latex colored paint may be what you want to use. Get a color the blends in with the bark. The edges of the wound are slowly growing towords each other, and eventualy will merge. The problem is its a huge wound that will take years to seal, and the wood is rotting away without the bark to protect it. I think you’ll want to look at filling in the hollow with a filler. at least near the base. You’ll have to get somebody that knows more to say with what. Now the thread is active though since I posted.
Thanks, that’s definitely more information than I had! The latex paint sounds like a good idea to help keep the water away from the core of the wood. I feel like it should be packed with some type of filler, but what that would be I have no idea.
Perhaps sawdust & some type of non-toxic glue (like Elmers).
It needs to be something that won’t promote fungus growth. Years ago some people put in cement, which I don’t think is ever a good choice. Try an arborist site, or the state FDA, or a University Extension.
The wood inside the cut is damp and somewhat greenish looking. We’ve had the tree trimmed, and had several deep root feedings, but the condition hasn’t cleared up. The one self-styled ‘tree doctor’ (who charged $60.00 for his diagnosis) flatly said “Cut it down”. That was the extent of his advice…