Trees with damaged barks can definitely be saved by taking some appropriate steps. You can address the type and reason of damage first, and then move to the recovery part. However, if the condition is fatal, you can get tree cutting services for tree removal.

Here are some methods that you can use to save a tree with damaged bark.

But Trees Can’t Heal, Can They?

It is scientifically true that trees can’t heal. But this isn’t necessarily the reason to get them cut. Trees keep themselves away from further damage by growing calluses around the wound and growing extra wood to prevent the wound from too much exposure. So, a tree can definitely stay alive even after getting damaged from outside. So, sealing is an appropriate word that we can use for a tree in the place of healing.

You Can Accelerate the Sealing Process

You can actually accelerate the sealing process of a wounded tree by playing your part. Bark tracing is a method in which the ragged bark is scraped off from the wound of a tree to let the calluses grow without any disturbance.

Take a chisel and a hammer to carefully remove the loose, uneven and jagged bark from the wound of the tree. This allows you to create a smooth surface, which will promote the growth of new calluses.

Girdled Trees Can Also Be Kept Alive

A tree is called girdled when a considerable portion of bark gets removed from its surface. This is a severe injury and can actually cause a tree to die if not treated well. Usually the severity of the girdling is detected by taking a look at the total damaged portion. Any damage under 25% can be treated with proper care, however, the tree will have a tougher time surviving as the numbers grow larger.

Remember that girdled trees can also be kept alive with proper care. Try not to cut too much bark when scraping off the debris from the wound.

Use Bridge Grafting

Usually tree trunks are the first to die, branches and roots follow them respectively. But the roots of any tree take much longer time to die. So, you can take help from the dying tree’s roots and make a connection between the roots and leaves to help keep the tree alive until it seals the wound. This can be done by using a method called bridge grafting.

You don’t need much equipment to do this. Use twigs and branches in this method to make a direct connection between the roots and the portion above the wound to let the tree seal its wound over time. However, the success of this method highly depends on your grafting skills. The chances of recovery are usually low, but it’s worth a try.

Know Nothing? Try Reattaching the Bark

If you don’t dive into the lengthy repair methods mentioned above, then you can simply use a duct tape to reattach the scrapped (not detached) bark from the tree. This might help reattach it to the tree and save it from dying.

Avoid Doing These Things

There are a lot of methods you can use to actually save your tree (or any tree) from dying. This might look like a good thing to help the trees, and many people enjoy doing this on a regular basis. But there are some bad practices that need to be stopped. Some things can actually harm the tree and halt its recovery process instead of helping it.

• While trying the reattach the bark with a tree, never use a sealant, they can prove to be deadly for the tree you’re using them on.
• If a wound has a cavity inside it, then you should never try to clean any stuff that’s inside the cavity. That might look like regular debris, but those substances are actually there to help the tree with its recovery, and removing them might cause serious damage to the tree.
• Some people apply things like cement (to solidify the wound), tar, and tree paint (to make the wound visible). Remember that these things are also harmful for the wounded tree.

So, with a wounded tree, you’ll have to be quick in maintaining its bark, or completely removing it in order to let the newer one (calluses) to grow pretty fast.

Moreover, if your tree’s condition is bad, you should also look for tree services MD for tree removal to avoid any damage to your property or the lives of people around it.