wired up willow

jerseygirl

jerseygirl

Location
balancing on the edge . . . .
Hello all

question - Willow tree

I will get a photo

BUT - here is my garden issue

there be a willow of the weeping type that when planted (years ago) the support lines, the rubber tubes with wire in them, were never removed. i spotted this as i was getting ready for a climb. now the rubber, rotten, is half stuck, girdled, grown into the tree. also the wire has been eaten in the same fashion.

I was going to remove what i can. Should I (i will) and are there any other suggestions on this. I know that i can not remove what the tree has already eatten.

thanks

jz - walking the woods.
 
There's not a whole lot to be done. If there is any wire or tubing that is on the exterior and not involved with the bark you can remove it for aesthetic reasons. If the wire is still intact around the entire tree, you can cut it in an exposed spot so it won't girdle the trunk as much as the tree grows. If new wood has grown around the wire, removing it will just open up a wound. The tree has already started to compartmentalize the wound created by the wire, so opening the tree up just to get the wire off wouldn't be optimal. If the wire is just wrapped around the tree but hasn't penetrated the bark, you should be able to remove it safely.

Of course, your options would be easier to see with a picture.
grin.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]

I was going to remove what i can. Should I (i will) and are there any other suggestions on this.

[/ QUOTE ]Yes, try to avoid extra damage--willow bark will "slip' off the wood if it is pulled on, so you may have to push down on the nearby bark to keep it attached when you excise the hose and wire. [ QUOTE ]
I know that i can not remove what the tree has already eatten.


[/ QUOTE ]Well you can, but the tree would have to grow new tissue to seal the wound. pics will tell whether this extreme step may be justified.
 
Amazingly, willow is one of the few trees I see that will "self-graft" to bridge that kind of damage. Sometimes yes - sometimes not.

If the bark is coarse and old, likely not.

I suppose if you know your tree care, it's not a crisis these days if you know how to brace your tree if needed.

One option that you can do with a willow, is to find a few twigs, pull them into position, and graft the ends. Then let the twigs expand with growth, becoming a natural cabling.

The key would be that they don't get "tugged on" sideways with pressure.

Now that I think about it, I should include that idea on my own website information.

It's not much different from Arborsculpture, but adapted for bracing. If you do several, you can really beef-up the structural strength.
 
So Mario, you are saying to pull up little branches from below the girdled area, and nick the bark above the girdle, and press them in so they graft?

That sounds ingenious! And it may work with other genera.
 
[ QUOTE ]
So Mario, you are saying to pull up little branches from below the girdled area, and nick the bark above the girdle, and press them in so they graft?

That sounds ingenious! And it may work with other genera.

[/ QUOTE ]

That is a very interesting idea.

I've seen a lot of mature Bradford pears with interlocking branches that seem to add structural strength. Trying to graft may be a good idea there too. I've seen a few natural graft but it's rare, usually it's just a physical connection.

It may be that moving smaller branches on Bradford pears so they interlock would work well....with no grafting attempt at all.
 
[ QUOTE ]
So Mario, you are saying to pull up little branches from below the girdled area, and nick the bark above the girdle, and press them in so they graft?

That sounds ingenious! And it may work with other genera.

[/ QUOTE ]

After pruning and yard clean-up work today, as I was putting my tools and gear away, this concept came to mind again.

I thought that there are so many kinds of businesses - could an handy nurseryman grow different lengths of skinny nursery stock that could be ordered to length for a natural grafting material.

Although, most trees I'm around, seem to have branches somewhere, that could be grafted.

What the heck... on a codominant leader tree, if the upper tips alone could be grafted side by side, or the uppermost twigs grafted, that's all it would take if the graft area was braced and taped for a short period.

One thing I noticed about trees, when I was 35' up a 45' tall tree with codominance, even 10' down from the top, it only takes about 10 lbs. to 20 lbs. worth of exertion with my hands to pull or push the leaders apart.

So a graft placed high enough, could eliminate the need for cables or cobra. Especially if it was done in multiples.
 
here are the pictures of the trees - the willow has the wire only gridled on one place. I found about 6 white pines that are the guide wires are also still on. the house was build 10 years ago and then the trees were added.

The issue of me is that the twisted the wires UNDER the knot and now are impossiable to untie or untwist without cutting them.

enjoy

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7658472@N03/

jz - pulling kudzu out of the tree on a surfing day
 
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