Advice, how to manage hole/dead wood

[Fishinjunky]

I would cut I down to a stump an start fresh

 

[rayray]

Would this technique work on this? My persimmon tree got accidentally half girdled.View attachment 4956

Here’s some damage on fruit tree’s that have healed or are in the healing process.

All but one was deer damage, the one with a long break happened during a storm—a larger tree took out a branch from the smaller Pear tree. It was a bad wound but with the close up you can see it’s healing. The others were done by bucks, it was amazing the damage they did, the one I cut the peach down to where you see the weird wound, I cleaned it up the best I could and as you can see that’s healing too.

The way I look at it, I clean the wound, as others have said they use a sealer—I never have and I’m not opposed to it, just never have done it. Then let nature take it’s course. So far so good—what’s the worse that can happen?

 

[rayray]

That long wound, damage from the larger tree branch I was going to cut that section off to make the wound less severe, but that's the other two branches are the grafts I did, so if I cut the larger section to make the wound smaller, I would lose one type of fruit--that tree produces two different kinds of pears. I know I was taking a chance on losing the whole tree, but it looks like it's healing. And this sounds weird, but I swear if you talk to your tree's, and give them a pat here and there, they do better lol.

The third pic was bad damage from a buck, he rubbed all the bark off that section and made that branch really thin, before it healed all the way around the other side looked really dead, I was going to cut it off because I was afraid it was rotting. I decided to leave it, and see what happens, it's healing well and suspect it will make a full recovery just fine. The last pic was a tough one, it was down to nothing but a stump, I thought the tree was gone--well--I now have a little tree, and as you can see that's been healing too, and growing.

Patience for the Patients

All these tree's have their own personality, the wounds are part of it.

 

[Figgerlickinggood]

Here’s some damage on fruit tree’s that have healed or are in the healing process.

All but one was deer damage, the one with a long break happened during a storm—a larger tree took out a branch from the smaller Pear tree. It was a bad wound but with the close up you can see it’s healing. The others were done by bucks, it was amazing the damage they did, the one I cut the peach down to where you see the weird wound, I cleaned it up the best I could and as you can see that’s healing too.

The way I look at it, I clean the wound, as others have said they use a sealer—I never have and I’m not opposed to it, just never have done it. Then let nature take it’s course. So far so good—what’s the worse that can happen?

My husband and I were blown away impressed. You give me hope it will do well.

 

[rayray]

My husband and I were blown away impressed. You give me hope it will do well.

It doesn't hurt to give the tree time to do it's thing.

Years ago, we got a fluke snowstorm here in NEPA, about 6 to 8 inches of snow, it came and went really quick and the snow melted in a couple of days. My buddy, at the time maybe had 20 beautiful fig tree's and I do mean beautiful! Back when he moved here from the Bronx he planted 43 fig trees (1983??), when him and I started hanging out about 20 years ago he had 20ish out of the 43. Well, he unwrapped his fig tree's and like a week later it snowed--he was soooo angry he chopped them all down to the ground. I think he overreacted from being upset, that one fig was 15 to 18 feet tall with a really good trunk, nice and thick--cut it down--we all thought he overracted and should have waited. They grew back but never to that size, well, cause it took decades to get to that point. The one get's to a great height but it doesn't have that trunk. I can't remember, I think he's down to 6 fig tree's now?? He culled some and made room for all things, potatoes, he loves potatoes. We joke with him and say he's been hanging out with too many Irishmen.

On a side note, when they visit his sister she serves baked potatoes cause she loves poatatoes too...He also loves thin slices of potato on his pizza--when he was down in Florida, at this pizza shop he asked the guy if he had potato?? The guy says yes, so he says, okay I want thinly sliced potato on my pizza. So when the guy brings the pizza out to the table there's the pizza with thinly sliced tomato on top of the pizza. Of course my buddy says, "What's this? This isn't what I wanted!? I wanted potato not tomato! What's the matter with you!" Of course you have to imagine Sicilian broken English...so it's more like Whadya madder wit youuuuuu....Then of course the pizza guy yells back What kind of Italian gets potato on top of their pizza!!?? Then of course my buddy's friend stands up and he's a big guy say....another off the boat Sicilian says, "You better apologize right now"....lol....Here you got three guys with broken English arguing about potatoes, tomatoes and pizza...and they're all Italian!! They all speak Italian!! But they're not speaking Italian, they're speaking and arguing in English, broken English.

I don't know...maybe the dialects were different, lot's of different dialects between Sicily, mainland Italy then the North.

 

[Figgerlickinggood]

It doesn't hurt to give the tree time to do it's thing.

Years ago, we got a fluke snowstorm here in NEPA, about 6 to 8 inches of snow, it came and went really quick and the snow melted in a couple of days. My buddy, at the time maybe had 20 beautiful fig tree's and I do mean beautiful! Back when he moved here from the Bronx he planted 43 fig trees (1983??), when him and I started hanging out about 20 years ago he had 20ish out of the 43. Well, he unwrapped his fig tree's and like a week later it snowed--he was soooo angry he chopped them all down to the ground. I think he overreacted from being upset, that one fig was 15 to 18 feet tall with a really good trunk, nice and thick--cut it down--we all thought he overracted and should have waited. They grew back but never to that size, well, cause it took decades to get to that point. The one get's to a great height but it doesn't have that trunk. I can't remember, I think he's down to 6 fig tree's now?? He culled some and made room for all things, potatoes, he loves potatoes. We joke with him and say he's been hanging out with too many Irishmen.

On a side note, when they visit his sister she serves baked potatoes cause she loves poatatoes too...He also loves thin slices of potato on his pizza--when he was down in Florida, at this pizza shop he asked the guy if he had potato?? The guy says yes, so he says, okay I want thinly sliced potato on my pizza. So when the guy brings the pizza out to the table there's the pizza with thinly sliced tomato on top of the pizza. Of course my buddy says, "What's this? This isn't what I wanted!? I wanted potato not tomato! What's the matter with you!" Of course you have to imagine Sicilian broken English...so it's more like Whadya madder wit youuuuuu....Then of course the pizza guy yells back What kind of Italian gets potato on top of their pizza!!?? Then of course my buddy's friend stands up and he's a big guy say....another off the boat Sicilian says, "You better apologize right now"....lol....Here you got three guys with broken English arguing about potatoes, tomatoes and pizza...and they're all Italian!! They all speak Italian!! But they're not speaking Italian, they're speaking and arguing in English, broken English.

I don't know...maybe the dialects were different, lot's of different dialects between Sicily, mainland Italy then the North.

. ️ I’m half Italian on my mother’s side. Here family is Napolatana. She spoke it fluently but didn’t teach my brothers or me. But when I said I wanted to learn she taught me some words and phrases.

 

[rayray]

. ️ I’m half Italian on my mother’s side. Here family is Napolatana. She spoke it fluently but didn’t teach my brothers or me. But when I said I wanted to learn she taught me some words and phrases.

My buddy, he's so old school he says North Italians are barely Italian. lol...then he says the Napoletano's are too loud and the Romans are the worst can't trust them....My buddy is a pistol and has a way of getting everyone mad lol.

What else does he say??? Oh, if you want to get robbed go visit Palermo....

But man is he a great gardener!

Ironically he has just discovered Archie Bunker, never seen the show "All in the Family, and he loves Archie lol.

 

[TorontoJoe]

I don't know...maybe the dialects were different, lot's of different dialects between Sicily, mainland Italy then the North.

The main reason I don't travel north of Rome. I have no idea what anyone is saying

In the back hills in Calabria the dialict can get pretty wild though....

I don't think it's fair to say, "if you want to get robbed go visit Palermo." You're equally likely to get robbed in most major Italian cities!

 

[SpiritFarmVa]

Someone reading the title of this thread and then the conversation might end up very confused

 

[SpiritFarmVa]

Judt got this yellow lebanese, was planning to container grow, fig has a V shape, on this half you can see where it was trimmed previously and thr wood has decayed, will this cause the tree to rot? Should I cut everything off from the point just below that hole? Should I fill it in with something?

Thanks for advice everyone
View attachment 4930

One thing that may not have been mentioned yet on the stem with the “wound” is the fact that at each node is a solid point of wood which in most cases is able to stop (compartmentalize) the damage. The dead stub only needs removed and a little bark until you hit live material. You could cover it with even parafilm and a spot that small would likely heal over in one season.
If you wanted to save the stem Of course.
That nub stopped the tree from being able to properly heal over.

 

[rayray]

The main reason I don't travel north of Rome. I have no idea what anyone is saying

In the back hills in Calabria the dialict can get pretty wild though....

I don't think it's fair to say, "if you want to get robbed go visit Palermo." You're equally likely to get robbed in most major Italian cities!

He says that cause he got robbed in Palermo by a cop and a guy on a bicycle--figure that one out. And another local Sicilian family in my area also got robbed in Palermo going from the airport to their old family home. So, to him (my buddy) if you want to get robbed you go to Palermo. It sounds like a Woody Allen movie. I shouldn't say this but it's kind of funny, he tells me every time I go to Palermo I take my money and tuck it under my b a l l s, cause even a crook isn't going to grab another mans b a l l s.

My buddy Gino tells me every town/village can have their own dialect/slang or ways about them, like the whole village has it's own unique personality. He was telling me there's a village next to his where everyone curses just in normal talk, that if you walk from one end to the other end and talked to 10 people, everyone cursed just in normal conversation, and they all love calling each other "Hey a$$hole..." when they're talking but it's like accepted and no one is offended. But if you're not from there or not aware by the time you get out of the village you're like what's wrong with these people?? That's what he tells me.

And this is what we talk about when it's only the men getting together for dinner and drinks....

My Aunt Donna's family is from Bari so they're Barese. They are much much much more normal/refined than my buddy.

 

[rayray]

One thing that may not have been mentioned yet on the stem with the “wound” is the fact that at each node is a solid point of wood which in most cases is able to stop (compartmentalize) the damage. The dead stub only needs removed and a little bark until you hit live material. You could cover it with even parafilm and a spot that small would likely heal over in one season.
If you wanted to save the stem Of course.
That nub stopped the tree from being able to properly heal over.

See, I had a feeling "figs" are a little different! This is good info. Basically, you're saying if one wants to save the stem and continue with the shape of the tree to start trimming the dead wood and some bark until you get to live wood near the node and from that point on the tree will be able to compartmentalize the wound, healing itself.

I'm going to try this--cause I think I have some figs with this same issue.

 

[TorontoJoe]

@rayray Tell your Italian buddies to watch this....

 

[SpiritFarmVa]

See, I had a feeling "figs" are a little different! This is good info. Basically, you're saying if one wants to save the stem and continue with the shape of the tree to start trimming the dead wood and some bark until you get to live wood near the node and from that point on the tree will be able to compartmentalize the wound, healing itself.

I'm going to try this--cause I think I have some figs with this same issue.

A great resource for plant care on things like this can be bonsai. Watch how they care for their plants after pruning. Either to retain a dead branch section for its esthetics or how to get a pruning wound to heal over. Those potted plants live for centuries.
I have a set of bonsai pruners for this type of situation that lets you nip away dead material easier and more accurately.

Amazon.com

 

[GilaMonster]

One thing that may not have been mentioned yet on the stem with the “wound” is the fact that at each node is a solid point of wood which in most cases is able to stop (compartmentalize) the damage. The dead stub only needs removed and a little bark until you hit live material. You could cover it with even parafilm and a spot that small would likely heal over in one season.
If you wanted to save the stem Of course.
That nub stopped the tree from being able to properly heal over.

Thank you for explaining!