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Spray painting a tree.

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Jim Tiberio

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Jun 17, 2004, 10:34:22 AM6/17/04
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This morning a police pursuit ended on my parents' front lawn. Police
estimated his speed at about 60 MPH before the Lincoln Town Car left the
road and creamed my parents tree. It is a white birch and there is
significant damage to the bark and some chunks of these actual tree missing.
A cop on the scene said he lives on a curve and his white birch has been
struck several times. His advice to keep it from dying was simply to spay
paint the bare areas with gray paint so it will blend from a distance and
seal the tree. Has anyone else heard of, used or know of a different method
to keep it from dying and help cover the area from an appearance standpoint?


Toller

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Jun 17, 2004, 10:55:56 AM6/17/04
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You probably want to post this on some sort of horticulture group; but my
understanding is that tree wounds used to be painted, but more recently that
has been found to retard healing.
If you have an agriculture extension or even a parks department you might
want to check with them.


Lost-In-Translation

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Jun 17, 2004, 11:18:58 AM6/17/04
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Paint is a no-no. Leave it to a dumbass cop to recommend it. Check with
your local nursery, they actually make a tree "band-aid" for this type of
damage.

In the interim, the driver's insurance either owes you a mature White Birch
tree, or compensation for it's value. You can also claim this damage on
homeowners and with subrogation rights, let your homeowners insurance pursue
the driver for reimbursement.

"Jim Tiberio" <jimti...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:2jdofcF...@uni-berlin.de...

Joseph Meehan

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Jun 17, 2004, 12:24:30 PM6/17/04
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Lost-In-Translation wrote:
> Paint is a no-no. Leave it to a dumbass cop to recommend it. Check
> with your local nursery, they actually make a tree "band-aid" for
> this type of damage.
>
> In the interim, the driver's insurance either owes you a mature White
> Birch tree, or compensation for it's value. You can also claim this
> damage on homeowners and with subrogation rights, let your homeowners
> insurance pursue the driver for reimbursement.
>

Actually I believe that latex paint is OK. However as noted today they
are rethinking the advice about using any thing. Check locally as weather
conditions and type of tree may call for different care.
--
Joseph E. Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math

... ...

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Jun 17, 2004, 12:48:11 PM6/17/04
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They make a spray paint to use on trees after pruning. It seals in the
sap and keeps out the insects I have used it after pruning. Eventually
the bark grows ower the spot but it takes a long time. There other
methods used to repair split and broken branches that involve peat moss
and wrapping with plastic. Maybe these methods will work for you .
You could also try posting in some of the many gardening groups they
are are full of great ideas.You could also try contacting a local tree
surgeon.

Bill

Phisherman

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Jun 17, 2004, 2:36:52 PM6/17/04
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Remove any loose wood from the tree and keep it clean. It will heal
itself. Do not use tar nor paint.

nosp...@vcoms.net

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Jun 17, 2004, 11:44:36 AM6/17/04
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Rec.gardens I think is one.

On Thu, 17 Jun 2004 12:48:11 -0400, BRVHR...@webtv.net (... ...)
wrote:

Jeff Wisnia

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Jun 17, 2004, 4:13:44 PM6/17/04
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Jim Tiberio wrote:

I've always used automobile undercoating in a spray can to cover exposed
wood on our trees after I've trimmed limbs off. Seems to work fine, and
blends in pretty well.

It costs less (at AutoZone) than half of what the garden shops sell
spray cans of "pruning paint" for.

I don't know anything about the chemistries, but it sure looks and
smells like the same stuff, and I never had a tree keel over and drop
dead on me after I've used it.

Jeff

--
Jeff Wisnia (W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"My luck is so bad that if I bought a cemetery, people would stop dying."

Dan Hartung

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Jun 17, 2004, 10:49:47 PM6/17/04
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Hmm. Tree tar used to be used on pruning and other damage, on the theory
it would prevent malicious insects and organisms from infecting the
tree. But today arborists believe it actually tends to seal in moisture
and accelerate rot, so the standard advice is to leave it alone. The
tree will heal itself, if it can.

Meanwhile, for appearance's sake, you might try a fast-growing ivy.

The insurance advice in another post was useful, so follow up on that.
If you are not made whole, you can probably claim the loss on your
taxes. Get suitable documentation!

Jim Tiberio

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Jun 18, 2004, 2:06:31 PM6/18/04
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"Jeff Wisnia" <jwi...@conversent.net> wrote in message
news:J-GdnbGGv8E...@conversent.net...
Thanks and thanks everyone else for your replies. I did actually get that
pruning paint but it was only %8 so that's not a big deal.


Chuck Yerkes

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Jun 21, 2004, 3:09:02 AM6/21/04
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Lesse, post to a bunch of anonymous yahoos and get (this is
what I've loved about Usenet since 1988) 12 absolutely certain
and different and often opposing bits of advice.

Or go to the local nursery you regularly patronize and
ASK (and no, that's not Home Depot or Lowes).

Doug Kanter

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Jun 21, 2004, 9:33:23 AM6/21/04
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It's a symptom of the times. A friend of mine came over last week, someone
in her late 20s. We were discussing a place to go to for a late dinner. We
wanted to know how late they served dinner at a particular place. Her
solution: Start my laptop and wait the full five minutes for it to boot. My
solution: Get out the phone book and call the place. Her explanation: "I
think it's better to get information online". ROFL!!!

"Chuck Yerkes" <new...@june2004.NOSPAMsnew.com> wrote in message
news:iQvBc.81508$eu.61000@attbi_s02...

Nil

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Jun 21, 2004, 10:54:23 AM6/21/04
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On 21 Jun 2004, Chuck Yerkes <new...@june2004.NOSPAMsnew.com> wrote
in news:iQvBc.81508$eu.61000@attbi_s02:

> Lesse, post to a bunch of anonymous yahoos and get (this is
> what I've loved about Usenet since 1988) 12 absolutely certain
> and different and often opposing bits of advice.

What's wrong with that? How is that different than asking a question at
a party and getting a variety of answers, or asking your friends and
acquaintences? If you're looking for a definitive answer you're doing
it wrong, but if you're looking for different viewpoints, this is a
great way to get them from the widest field. You can learn things this
way, you know.

Doug Kanter

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Jun 21, 2004, 11:09:19 AM6/21/04
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"Nil" <redn...@REMOVETHIScomcast.net> wrote in message
news:Xns950F6EEB...@63.240.76.16...

True, to an extent, but if 10 people report success with 10 different
methods, it's meaningless, isn't it? I'd trust the advice of a
horticulturist from Cornell (for instance) before 10 anecdotes which may
prove nothing but the prevalence of good luck. Disclaimer: I feel this way
about living things like plants, when you may have one chance to treat them
right, or lose them completely. Now...suggestions for cool ways for one
person to handle huge pieces of sheetrock without a helper...that's another
story. There are dozens of ways, and nothing dies if you screw up.


Nil

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Jun 21, 2004, 11:33:59 AM6/21/04
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On 21 Jun 2004, "Doug Kanter" <ancien...@hotmail.com> wrote in
news:zSCBc.6732$Fm4...@news02.roc.ny:

> True, to an extent, but if 10 people report success with 10
> different methods, it's meaningless, isn't it? I'd trust the
> advice of a horticulturist from Cornell (for instance) before 10
> anecdotes which may prove nothing but the prevalence of good luck.
> Disclaimer: I feel this way about living things like plants, when
> you may have one chance to treat them right, or lose them
> completely. Now...suggestions for cool ways for one person to
> handle huge pieces of sheetrock without a helper...that's another
> story. There are dozens of ways, and nothing dies if you screw up.

But you don't know that there will be such differing opinions until you
ask. That's a lesson to be learned right here, that it's not common
knowledge how to treat a tree injury. I would guess that even
horitculturist have different ideas on how deal with it. If you
consider many opinions, even if they are wrong, you may be in a better
armed to discuss it. I see no harm in soliciting opinions on just about
anything on an internet forum such as this, so long as you don't take
anything you read here to be gospel.

Doug Kanter

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Jun 21, 2004, 11:36:44 AM6/21/04
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"Nil" <redn...@REMOVETHIScomcast.net> wrote in message
news:Xns950F75A2...@204.127.199.17...

Perhaps some of the people who visit this NG are too young to be able to
walk into a garden store and tell the difference between someone who knows
what they're talking about (a rarity), and a kid whose primary area of
knowledge is knowing how to make french fries at McDonald's. There's the
danger.


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