Can I save this tree?

[thistlebloom]

Using a wound dressing or tar on pruning wounds used to be common practice.
It's been discovered, (by people who study these things), that wound dressing actually delays the trees compartmentalization of the cut and can also cause rot by trapping moisture.

If you have ever looked at an old cut that was made too far from the branching collar you can see where the stub has died back to the collar leaving a dead portion. That's the tree sealing off the live tissue.
An interesting fact is that trees don't "heal' from cuts, they just seal it off. If that part of the cut is kept moist it can't do it's job.

 

[Smart Red]

It is thought, now, that sealing cuts actually interferes with the natural way a tree will callus over after losing a branch.

"Wound dressings don't prevent decay, disease or insect infestations as once believed. They may even prevent the wood from drying, which can spark fungal growth."

The only exception might be during stressful drought conditions, where the tree might lose too much moisture through the cut unless it is sealed.

 

[Andrew]

Ah! Glad I heard it here.

Thanks again!

 

[Smiles Jr.]

Another thing you may want to think about is to use a cable to pull the tree (very, very slowly) up to vertical again. I have done this successfully several times.

If there is enough yard space available, you could loop the cable around the tree trunk as high as possible and attach the other end of the cable to a heavy duty stake in the ground. Add one, two or three turnbuckles in the cable near the ground to tighten the cable. I suggest one or two turns on one turnbuckle each week to slowly pull the tree up to the position you desire. The cable may be needed for a year or more to get the job done. Pull the tree past the position you desire to over-correct the trunk angle for a few months and when you release the cable and remove it entirely the tree can relax back to the position you wanted in the first place.

Tree service companies do this sort of thing all the time.

 

[Andrew]

Tree service companies do this sort of thing all the time.

Hi Smiles - thanks for the note.

I'd love to do this, but am not sure I could get far enough away as the neighbor's yard is kinda close. (We don't have the kind of relationship in which I'd ask him if I can hammer tree stakes into his yard for a year...)

I've called companies but only one has responded and we're #72!

Recent storm really caused some trouble around here.

Andrew