[roland45]

While catching up on my lawn duties this afternoon, I mistakenly whacked my Peach tree. It is only 3 feet tall, about as thick as a finger,and this would be its second year.The whaker seems to have stripped the bark off almost completely. While taking a pic to post I noticed little brown ants crawling on it.
Is there any that can be done to save it? Tape it, tie a rag around it, paint it????
I would be extremely grateful for any help, I dont want to lose this one, up until now its been growing like a weed.
Thanks, Roland

 

[PADingo]

No matter how much of the tree bark has been damaged, you will need to repair the wound.

If the tree is simply scratched, wash the wound out with plain soap and water to help reduce the amount of pathogens that may be in the scratch and that could cause further damage. Wash the wound thoroughly with plain water after this. Allow the scratch to heal in the open air. Do not use a sealant.

Method 1 – Reattaching lost tree bark
If the removed tree bark is still available after the tree bark damage, gather up as much as possible and reattach it to the tree. Use tape such as duct tape to secure the bark to the tree. Make sure that the bark is going in the right direction (the same direction it was on before it came of) on the tree as the phloem layer can only transport nutrients in one direction. Perform this act as quickly as possible so that the bark does not die.

Method 2 – Clean cutting the wound
If the bark cannot be retrieved, say because an animal ate the bark, you will need to make sure that the damage to the tree will heal cleanly. Jagged wounds will interfere with the tree’s ability to transport nutrients so you will need to clean cut the wound. You do this by removing tree bark by cutting an oval around the circumference of the damage. The top and bottom of the wound there will be for the points of the oval. Do this as shallowly and as close to the wound as possible. Let the wound air heal. Do not use sealant.

 

[LONG BEARD 101]

Doctor Dingo "in the house"

Good luck with your tree!

 

[roland45]

Dingo,
Thank you for the help, I washed the damaged area with mild soap and water, and ductaped the bark that was left hanging back on, I could not find any other useable pieces laying on the ground.
Now I guess All I can do is wait and see.
Thank you again,
Roland

 

[Pa Bird Man]

For future reference you should be spraying around the bases of your fruit tress with roundup, this will help prevent accidents like this and will help the tree grow quicker because of less competition for nutrients and water.

 

[Fleroo]

All of my trees have a shroud wrapped around them. I simply take a section of the 4" Black Corrugated plastic drainpipe, and cut it vertically to the height that equals ground level to the first viable limb. This protects your tree from many things. Weedwhackers, rodents (girdling), Deer (rubbing), etc...

By the way, to girdle a tree, you "usually" need a wider area of bark removed completely around the tree than what you show. My guess is it will just suffer a scar. However, it's just a guess. Good Luck.

 

[Trout 2003]

Pa is right. If you have any others create a mulch perimeter around them to keep the weeds down. I will tell you in this case from experience that you are better off just ripping the tree out and starting over in the fall with a new young one. It's looks like you have almost 100% collared the tree so it will take years to recover IF it ever does. It most likely will not. I'm on summer number 3 of trying to rehab a collar branch from a deer rub damage and it is just not working. It's an 80% collar. The entire 5 year old tree is a mess because of it. It set fruit and dropped it all within 2 weeks of set. I'm going to have to cut it down this year and give up. I just can't compete with the deer. They are relentless.