Tree repair - Should I put cement into tree?
Frank
Tree repair - Should I put cement into tree?
I have a small cherry tree which blossoms beautifully, but has a
rot-ant hole in it about 16 inches in circumference. It is a beautiful
but small tree and I would like to preserve it. What I did so far was
to clean out the cavity and put bug spray inside. Next I was going to
put cement in it. Is this the proper thing to do? Should I put plant
food inside???
Thanks for any help.
Tom Miller
On Sat, 02 May 1998 18:20:53 GMT, cn...@worldnet.att.net (Frank)
wrote:
> | Tree repair - Should I put cement into tree?
> | I have a small cherry tree which blossoms beautifully, but has a
> | rot-ant hole in it about 16 inches in circumference. It is a beautiful
> | but small tree and I would like to preserve it. What I did so far was
> | to clean out the cavity and put bug spray inside. Next I was going to
> | put cement in it. Is this the proper thing to do? Should I put plant
> | food inside???
Put nothing inside. Leave it alone.
----------------------------------------------------
"Trudy is Beauth,-- Beauth, Trudy"
[To send me an email, remove xxx from my address]
Timothy Lasby
What would possess you to put cement inside?? You know how much weight
that is? Leave it alone, or stake it if you have to.
Frank wrote:
> Tree repair - Should I put cement into tree?
> I have a small cherry tree which blossoms beautifully, but has a
> rot-ant hole in it about 16 inches in circumference. It is a beautiful
> but small tree and I would like to preserve it. What I did so far was
> to clean out the cavity and put bug spray inside. Next I was going to
> put cement in it. Is this the proper thing to do? Should I put plant
> food inside???
foxeye
foxeye wrote:
At one time this was done to "fix" trees, but it is seldom done
today. About all it does is to promote more rapid decay and rot. Its
just like a dentist filling a tooth and failing to get every bit of
decay out, it will just continue to decay. There are products whicxh
you can brush on or spray on available at most good nurseries, that
help a tree heal over any bad areas. Weather they work or not is
anyones guess. I have 2 large oak trees, one of which 2 people can
getinto the main trunk and it is as healthy as all get up. The other
is an oak where it has two main trunks comming out that is rotted, but
it seems like it covered itself over, and my ducks decided to make
this a nesting site for the past 3 years. I remember seeing many apple
and chery trees with large holes in them on the old farm back in PA,
doing just fine, when I was a kid growing up and they still produced
lots of fruit. Leave the cement out.
foxeye
>
>Frank wrote:
>
>> Tree repair - Should I put cement into tree?
>> I have a small cherry tree which blossoms beautifully, but has a
>> rot-ant hole in it about 16 inches in circumference. It is a beautiful
>> but small tree and I would like to preserve it. What I did so far was
>> to clean out the cavity and put bug spray inside. Next I was going to
>> put cement in it. Is this the proper thing to do? Should I put plant
>> food inside???
>> Thanks for any help.
>>
>> Frank
The opinions expressed are mine, and mine alone.
My wife had no input whatsoever.Remove www from
email for correct address. Never trust a rocket
or motor company from "Claremont Calif"
NAR #70031
danh...@millcomm.com
In <6ifo9e$8...@bgtnsc03.worldnet.att.net>, cn...@worldnet.att.net (Frank) writes:
>Tree repair - Should I put cement into tree?
> I have a small cherry tree which blossoms beautifully, but has a
>rot-ant hole in it about 16 inches in circumference. It is a beautiful
>but small tree and I would like to preserve it. What I did so far was
>to clean out the cavity and put bug spray inside. Next I was going to
>put cement in it. Is this the proper thing to do? Should I put plant
>food inside???
I think current thinking is to clean out the cavity, carve a drain notch
if needed to keep it dry, then leave it alone.
Dan Hicks
Hey!! My advice is free -- take it for what it's worth!
http://www.millcomm.com/~danhicks
msim...@hotmail.com
Hi foxeye, I noticed this thread because I was considering cement (or
something similar) myself, for a maple in my yard. The problem with it isn't
rotting, as far as I can tell, rather there are critters chewing out and
expanding a hole in the trunk. I can see a pile of wood chips on the ground!
Is there any safe way to keep them out or should I just leave it alone?
Thanks. Mike In article <354daad0...@news.compumise.com>#1/1,
fox...@www.compumise.com wrote: > > foxeye wrote: > At one time this was
done to "fix" trees, but it is seldom done > today. About all it does is to
promote more rapid decay and rot. Its > just like a dentist filling a tooth
and failing to get every bit of > decay out, it will just continue to decay.
There are products whicxh > you can brush on or spray on available at most
good nurseries, that > help a tree heal over any bad areas. Weather they work
or not is > anyones guess. I have 2 large oak trees, one of which 2 people
can > getinto the main trunk and it is as healthy as all get up. The other >
is an oak where it has two main trunks comming out that is rotted, but > it
seems like it covered itself over, and my ducks decided to make > this a
nesting site for the past 3 years. I remember seeing many apple > and chery
trees with large holes in them on the old farm back in PA, > doing just fine,
when I was a kid growing up and they still produced > lots of fruit. Leave
put cement into tree? > >> I have a small cherry tree which blossoms
beautifully, but has a > >> rot-ant hole in it about 16 inches in
circumference. It is a beautiful > >> but small tree and I would like to
preserve it. What I did so far was > >> to clean out the cavity and put bug
spray inside. Next I was going to > >> put cement in it. Is this the proper
> >> > >> Frank > > The opinions expressed are mine, and mine alone. > My
wife had no input whatsoever.Remove www from > email for correct address.
Never trust a rocket > or motor company from "Claremont Calif" > NAR #70031
>
-----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----
http://www.dejanews.com/ Now offering spam-free web-based newsreading
Keith Brewster
msim...@hotmail.com wrote:
: Hi foxeye, I noticed this thread because I was considering cement (or
: something similar) myself, for a maple in my yard. The problem with it isn't
: rotting, as far as I can tell, rather there are critters chewing out and
: expanding a hole in the trunk. I can see a pile of wood chips on the ground!
: Is there any safe way to keep them out or should I just leave it alone?
: Thanks. Mike
Well, if you can get elves to move in ... free cookies!
'spose you could put chicken wire around the thing to cover the hole,
but you might do more harm than good if it involves nailing into the
perimeter of tree. perhaps someone knows of a "home remedy" that
will keep the vermin away (pepper, mothballs, buckshot?).
-Keith
Tracy Bialik
I was at Sunset's headquarters a while ago, and they had an oak tree
with a filled hole in it. The stuff looked like solid styrofoam. The
gardener said it came in a spray can from a hardware store. You spray
it in and it hardens.
Sorry, I can't remember exactly what the stuff was (it might have
actually been styrofoam, but I don't want to lead you astry). Anyone
else heard of this?
- Tracy
Timothy Lasby wrote:
>
> What would possess you to put cement inside?? You know how much weight
> that is? Leave it alone, or stake it if you have to.
>
> Frank wrote:
>
> > Tree repair - Should I put cement into tree?
> > I have a small cherry tree which blossoms beautifully, but has a
> > rot-ant hole in it about 16 inches in circumference. It is a beautiful
> > but small tree and I would like to preserve it. What I did so far was
> > to clean out the cavity and put bug spray inside. Next I was going to
> > put cement in it. Is this the proper thing to do? Should I put plant
> > food inside???
> > Thanks for any help.
> >
> > Frank
Tom Miller
If something is digging out the hole, spray some critter-remover on it
(something like Ropel, say) but don't put concrete in the hole, don't
paint it, don't drill it out. Just leave it alone.
On Mon, 04 May 1998 07:20:16 -0600, msim...@hotmail.com wrote:
> | Hi foxeye,
I noticed this thread because I was considering cement (or
> | something
similar) myself, for a maple in my yard. The problem with it isn't
> | rotting,
as far as I can tell, rather there are critters chewing out and
> | expanding a hole in the trunk. I can see a pile of wood chips on the
ground!
> | Is there any safe way to keep them out or should I just leave
it alone?
> | Thanks.
Mike
In article <354daad0...@news.compumise.com>#1/1,
> >Frank wrote:
> >
> >> Tree repair - Should I
> | put cement into tree?
> >> I have a small cherry tree which blossoms
> | beautifully, but has a
> >> rot-ant hole in it about 16 inches in
> | circumference. It is a beautiful
> >> but small tree and I would like to
> | preserve it. What I did so far was
> >> to clean out the cavity and put bug
> | spray inside. Next I was going to
> >> put cement in it. Is this the proper
> | thing to do? Should I put plant
> >> food inside???
> >> Thanks for any help.
> | > >>
> >> Frank
>
> The opinions expressed are mine, and mine alone.
> My
> | wife had no input whatsoever.Remove www from
> email for correct address.
> | Never trust a rocket
> or motor company from "Claremont Calif"
> NAR #70031
> | >
> |
> | -----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----
> | http://www.dejanews.com/ Now offering spam-free web-based newsreading
Thomas Moorer
In article <6ifo9e$8...@bgtnsc03.worldnet.att.net>, cn...@worldnet.att.net (Frank) writes:
|> Tree repair - Should I put cement into tree?
|> I have a small cherry tree which blossoms beautifully, but has a
|> rot-ant hole in it about 16 inches in circumference. It is a beautiful
|> but small tree and I would like to preserve it. What I did so far was
|> to clean out the cavity and put bug spray inside. Next I was going to
|> put cement in it. Is this the proper thing to do? Should I put plant
|> food inside???
|> Thanks for any help.
|>
|> Frank
|> cn...@worldnet.att.net
|>
|>
There is a tree patch compound -can't think of the name of it, but we
got it at Pike's (Atlanta nursery and lawn care place). I think you can
buy it at Home Depot. We patched an oak tree about three years ago that
had a similar problem and the stuff encouraged the tree to heal around
it almost completely. It is not cheap, but for a cherry tree I would
spend the money now while the hole is manageable.
Bob Hanna
In article <6ifo9e$8...@bgtnsc03.worldnet.att.net>, cn...@worldnet.att.net wrote:
>Tree repair - Should I put cement into tree?
> I have a small cherry tree which blossoms beautifully, but has a
>rot-ant hole in it about 16 inches in circumference. It is a beautiful
>but small tree and I would like to preserve it. What I did so far was
>to clean out the cavity and put bug spray inside. Next I was going to
>put cement in it. Is this the proper thing to do? Should I put plant
>food inside???
>Thanks for any help.
>
>Frank
>cn...@worldnet.att.net
>
>
The following is from _Tree Maintenance_, P. P. Pirone, 6th ed., 1988,
Oxford University Press:
"It is apparent that cavity fillings do not add strength to the tree and in most
cases are not needed. However, filling can improve the appearance of some
trees, so the safest method of filling is described here.
"First, decayed wood is removed from the cavity. Care must be taken to
remove only the softest rotted wood without damaging the surrounding healthy
tissues. If the boundary zone separating invaded from uninvaded tissues is
broken, decay will spread rapidly and the tree will suffer. Mechanical
devices have been developed to remove the punky wood, but they should not be
used or only used with great care.
"The cavity may then be filled with any material that will not rub against living
tissue. Painting of the interior of the cavity with orange shellac, creosote,
tar, or asphalt paint is of no benefit.
"It is tempting to bore drainholes to remove water from tree cavities. This practice
will not help the tree because the boundary zone will be breached and decay
may spread.
"Although often used, concrete is not a good material for filling cavities. Concrete
will not bend with the swaying of the tree. As a result, the concrete may
crack or crumble or the wood may wear away at the point where the friction
occurs. Inability of the filler to flex with tree movement may result in
further spread of decay and possible breakage of the trunk. Thus concrete
should be used only where there is little possibility of movement, for
instance, small cavities near the base of the tree.
"Polyurethane foam available for filling cavities is more suitable for larger cavities
than is concrete. This material is tough, somewhat resilient, and adheres
well to both sapwood and heartwood. Moreover, it is light in weight, can be
poured into the cavity, expands and solidifies rapidly, is somewhat flexible
after setting, and permits callus initiation along the edges of the filled
cavity."
Any typos in the quote above are, of course, mine, not Pirone's.
Michael Pelletier
In article <354DFCD5...@netgate.net>,
Tracy Bialik <tr...@netgate.net> wrote:
>I was at Sunset's headquarters a while ago, and they had an oak tree
>with a filled hole in it. The stuff looked like solid styrofoam. The
>gardener said it came in a spray can from a hardware store. You spray
>it in and it hardens.
>
>Sorry, I can't remember exactly what the stuff was (it might have
>actually been styrofoam, but I don't want to lead you astry). Anyone
>else heard of this?
"Great Stuff" - comes in a red can with a little hose-thingy.
Wear rubber gloves when using it - it sticks to skin and doesn't
come off until your dead outer layer of skin is routinely
replaced over several days.
-Mike Pelletier.
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