Will my tree survive this wound?

I

inamemytrees

Location
Chino Valley
Hello everyone. This is my first post as I am new to trees and this forum. I go out every morning and look at the 3 trees that I have planted, two junipers and 1 elm. I inspect for new growth and anything that can harm the trees.

This morning I noticed on my freshly planted elm, that there is a some bark stripped off and a bit of shredding about 1 foot off the ground. I put up some chicken wire and rock around the tree, but I'm concerned the wound will kill the tree. It's about 3 inches long and 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide.

Will Steve the elm recover?
 

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Unfortunately Steve was the victim of being my first tree planting and inexperience. I have a very high clay content soil that dries into concrete. However when I checked yesterday the soil was nice and moist 1 inch below the surface, it just looks bad from the top. The tree is planted at the right depth, and I've been told to add some mulch, which I will take care of right away.
 
So what do you think damaged the bark ?
Deer, other critters, mechanical by landscaper, etc ?

My thought is that chicken wire is not a very stout barrier.

My mulch suggestion would include using "composted mulch or wood chips" if you can find them for the first 1 - 2 years.
Only < 2" thick. Leave a slight depression at the base & near the root flare.
As the green mulch / chips decompose, they take up nitrogen; but will eventually leave nitrogen. (If that makes sense to you.)

Later you can use "green" mulch / chips.
 
Elms, as well as being majestic shade trees, are also pretty friggin indestructible weeds. They compartmentalize and callus very well. That wound will likely be buried with live material in 2-3 years with little to no ill effect to the tree's long term health or structural stability. A blip on the radar for Steve.
 
I believe it to be rabbit damage as I don't have any deer around and the javelina are fenced out. Looks like they bit into the tree and ripped upwards. If memory serves, I seem to remember that's characteristic of how rabbits do their damage.

Yes Steve is upright.
 

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Steve-the-elm could use 4" of hardwood mulch spread evenly inside that area surrounded by rock. Make sure the mulch doesn't touch the trunk. FWIW, clay soils can actually hold too much moisture. Sandy soils dry out too quickly. For future reference you might mix some sand and compost with your clay before refilling the planting hole. The mulch will eventually break down and provide some compost to the area.

It looks like Steve might be planted a little deep too. I notice there's clay on top of the root ball. I'd rather see Steve's native soil there (i.e., whatever was in the pot Steve came in).
 
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I have learned some since planting this tree so I've amended the soil with the last two trees I've planted. Steve actually came as a house warming gift from my aunt. He was in similar soil to mine as a root ball in a burlap sack.
 
inamemytrees said:
I have learned some since planting this tree so I've amended the soil with the last two trees I've planted. Steve actually came as a house warming gift from my aunt. He was in similar soil to mine as a root ball in a burlap sack.
Click to expand...
Sounds good. The best way I can explain planting depth is that you don't want water to puddle around the stem. You want it to slightly drain away from the stem. Hope that makes sense.
 
And carefully remove the top layer of soil on the root ball until you can see the root flare. In a nursery they use machines that push soil back up on the root ball. I've removed up to 4" of soil in some cases.
 
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