Repairing a girdled deer damaged tree

Repairing a tree badly ring barked (girdled)

[@CONCERTMANchicago]

I was hoping to find a link for updated video showing progression. I would really like to see this inventive idea work. Proving goes a long way just as Galileo when he had witnessed Jupiter and it's four Medici moons through his telescope.

[@robyoung125]

Still alive? How long will you keep the hessian up? Is there chance that the bark will heal at all?

[@harmonymandelaeffect3246]

Thank you so very much for making this video. It really helped me fix my tree.

[@sheilah7529]

Hi, It is almost a full year later, how is the tree doing? Thanks!

[@MatthewBrown-wq1nc]

Hi Sheila, it's still alive so far! 👍

[@Yankees177]

@@MatthewBrown-wq1nc were now two years in, hows it going?

[@Yankees177]

just saw another post, sorry it didnt survive.

[@nadinebrandtner8649]

Can I use twiglets from a healthy tree of the same species, or do they need to come from the tree itself? I'm concerned that the twiglets of the affected tree may not work. The affected tree (damaged last year by horses chewing on the bark) was doing fine until a heatwave 2 weeks ago. Would be very grateful for a reply! :)

[@roiq5263]

Problem with a girdled tree is sap can go UP, but not down. So, the tree will live for some time, as it gets sap. The tree will try to save the tree by bridging the gap but if after some months (time depends on the species mainly) it can't, then it will interrupt the sap flow. BUT it will also try to grow suckers if the species in particular can do that. So, sorry, your tree died, but I hope it sprouted again from the ground.

[@theresagray5671]

Can you use branches from another type of tree to feed your damaged tree ? My little maple tree does not have any branches long enough to reach across the girdling.

[@CONCERTMANchicago]

Folks commonly graft different species onto one tree, so no worries. As long as your bridging branch tissue is from the same maple species or even maple genus in general. if you're trunk girdling wound runs all the way down to almost ground level, you may be grafting onto rootstock which would be a different maple species selected for vigor and better survivability. By the way what caused the girdling? Dear rubbing against young bark? With so many new trees commonly arriving with trunk already 4 to 10 in too deep in root ball exacerbated by today's overuse of mulch and landscapers recklessly building up soil around base of young trees. As arborist we are witnessing many new trees develop trunk tissue die back which most owners assume is either Sun scald or winter freeze because it's happening along one side of trunk. But what is really happening is buried trunks requiring oxygen exchange are being suffocated. causing sensitive trunk tissue to be damaged along sunward side of trunk. Just Google photos of of sun scorched trunks and you will notice how 100% lack any increasing trunk girth before entering ground. similar looking to a wooden fence pole installed into the ground. If you search KZbin for this old house how to correctly mulch around trees they will show you what a primary trunk flare looks like and how it is supposed to sit level with surrounding grade. Also try to refrain from building a raised soil mulch dike circling circling outer perimeter of root ball which unknowingly prevents irrigation from getting down to where actually needed. by watering that root ball Edge outward you will coax new radially outbound root growth. Good luck and enjoy your new family pet .

[@sparky1348]

So did it survive? Seriously curious

[@JCox-zp1bk]

Does the larger end of the branch (which was cut for use as the bridge) need to be inserted at the bottom of the girdled section, and the smaller end inserted into the top? That would allow the sap to travel upwards, which is the direction it traveled from the trunk outward before it was cut off from the trunk. Also, I have had good luck placing a metal tomato cage around pine trees when they are small. The deer won't use the tree as a rubbing post for their antlers with the tomato cage on it. Then when the pine tree is large enough that the deer won't use it as a rubbing post, use a bolt cutter to remove the cage. Don't leave the tomato cage on permanently.

[@will..5849]

Have you got a update video?

[@candaceroselacroix502]

Please update, I would love to know if this worked!

[@matthewbrown435]

Unfortunately this particular tree didn't make it, the deer kept coming back to undo my efforts and the vertical gap in the bark was too great to bridge successfully (as ideally you want to use thin branches and of course the greater the gap, the thicker the branches will be.) It lasted a whole year longer though 😩

[@candaceroselacroix502]

Matthew Brown thanks for following up! You made a valiant effort to save it!!

[@Pwn3dbyth3n00b]

@@matthewbrown435 seems like you should start hunting deer in that area.

[@matthewbrown435]

@@Pwn3dbyth3n00b yep! They've gone from a novelty to a pest! 😝

[@michellesiwela6174]

@@matthewbrown435 how many branches did you put around the tree...was it just the one or you put them all around the exposed area

[@GlaneciaXCat]

Did the tree survive?

[@inharmonywithearth9982]

To prevent deer rubbing velvet off on trees Wrap a loose piece of metal wire around trunk to about waste high or use heavy duty aluminum foil. Deer antlers are like teeth. Bite a piece of foil and youll understand. 59 year orchard experience.

[@candywong1856]

Is this method good for any kind of trees?

[@jesustoldyoutogiveallyourm4880]

If you see a small ringbarked tree, you should immediately saw it off at the bottom of the damage.. Then it will resprout vigourously. Can't help noticing the sacred kingfisher in the background.

[@nekonokazoku6872]

i hope i could see if this really works...

[@MatthewBrown-wq1nc]

so far the tree is surviving and putting out new "leaves" so it appears to but I've read you wont really know for a whole year if the repair has worked long term. I will do a follow up video.

[@kirmcook]

Matthew Brown how did this work?

[@matthewbrown435]

@@kirmcook Sadly the deer kept coming back to undo my efforts, and the tree that died now but it certainly lasted a lot longer than if I had done nothing.

[@kirmcook]

Matthew Brown it probably would have survived if the dear didn’t kill it!

[@marieellis6084]

Did the tree live?

[@charlescoker7752]

Update please.

[@JesusActual]

Can we get an update from the internet's Thor of trees?

[@nitrogenbasedboy]

Can you do an update videon

[@LauraNay23]

Nooooo! You suck! Lol I was ALL invested! I found this from a Google search and then of course the link wouldn’t open it in YT, so, I actually had to put effort into finding it again! Well, I did, and then I see you didn’t post a follow up? Isn’t this like, against the law? Or, like, against morality or some shit? 😉😂 We, nay! I NEED to see this tree now!!!

[@kanankhalilzade]

Hi. Still alive?

[@9999cameo]

there is absolutely no hope forvthe tree, its already dead.

[@StriderGTS]

This just reminds me how much I hate deer

[@aznvi3tprid3]

Next time if this happens again in future, we just need to cover the losing bark area by parafilm tape and let it heal by itself. Since this tree lost a large portion of bark, it might take upto 3 years to fully recover. This tree seemed to lose just its bark not much damage to the cambium, so there was unnecessary to do a bridge graft that way. I guess your graft in this video has been failed due to lack of knowledge and technique. There was no need to further trim the bark because it only give more harm to the cambium.

[@MatthewBrown-wq1nc]

Im no expert but all I can say is that we've had other trees that had the same issue, and those died, this one has survived so far.

[@Koraxus]

How much damage would full girdling without touching the green cambium would do to a small tree? I put a protective tube on it to avoid grassmowers, but the support stick broke and eventually it grinded itself against the plastic pipe.

[@MatthewBrown-wq1nc]

@@Koraxus apparently I have since learnt that the nutrients and energy from photosynthesis travels from the leaves down to the roots and if that route is cut off then the roots are what die off and then ultimately the tree. You might get away with sealing it up if it is a narrow gap but other uploads indicate its best to bridge if there is enough bark removed.

[@Koraxus]

@@MatthewBrown-wq1nc It is a very narrow gap, but it's also a small tree. It's no thicker than 1 cm but it goes all around.

[@CONCERTMANchicago]

Definitely from what I could see, this portion of trunk had totally lost all of its phloem and cambium layer. That's straight wood sapwood xylem we see open to the elements. Grafting on new tissue sounds like a novel inventive idea for an otherwise fatally girdled tree. I do agree with you that further cutting live tissue back was probably a mistake. This is now an outdated method people used to call tracing. By cutting off and evening out edges in order for fat lip tissue to grow back evenly.

[@charleschurch8379]

So unfortunate you think your blasphemous comments to be necessary in a tree trimming video.

[@falkharvard8722]

😂😂😂 Are you going to be ok?

[@brendahenson1203]

I call bull s*** on this.