The first one might make it, but the second two don’t look good at all

As you have now discovered, garden centers are not a source of good advice. Next time, just google "how to keep deer away from tree" and get this: https://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+keep+deer+away+from+young+tree&client=firefox-b-1-d&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjMnMGLjbXrAhWKTt8KHdWCA7IQ_AUoA3oECA0QBQ&biw=1920&bih=945

I know, you should be able to rely on your garden center, but those days are way behind us now.

So what can I do? Anything?

Don’t put anything else on the trunk (no goop or salves or wrap, etc.) If they can heal themselves, they will. Any intervention you make is generally more harmful than helpful. If you still have deer problems, a cage as lisanti suggests is your best bet.

I doubt the second two will make it through winter. There appears to be a lot of rot and decay....is that area soft or mushy? And the narrowing is cause for concern as well. Keep your fingers crossed for the first - no guarantees - but I'd be inclined to remove the other two and start over. They do not look to be recoverable.

I'd also object to the blanket dismissal of all garden centers/retail nurseries as bad sources of info. Some are.....many are not. Larger ones around here all have information desks or booths staffed with fulltime horticulturists that provide all manner of customer info.....disease and pest diagnosis, recommended treatments, plant ID, basic design suggestions. And with handouts that cover a wide range of common gardening issues. They also offer free classes in spring on pruning, vegetable gardening, lawn care, composting and soil improvement, etc.

Most are wonderful gardening resources.

Yes. The areas are soft and mushy. We have 8 of these trees. 7 are like this. They line our driveway. No places around here have little leaf Lindens so now it will be odd to have mismatched trees.

One of them has a white mushy area. One has green moss all over it. One is splitting open. One looks constricted and is narrowed.

What a huge loss of trees, money and time. They were just starting to look significant.

I will leave them alone and give them a chance. Is there anything to gain by pulling them out now?

Gardengal, I would love to have a garden center that worked like you describe. Around here (almost urban NJ), you have Home Depot and Lowe's, some biggish centers that make most of their money from landscapers, and, far away, some niche native or herb nurseries; only the last are doing gardening out of the love of it. No disrepect to the workers at the other places, but they only know what's on the little plastic stick in the pot, and their advice usually involves RoundUp, arbor vitae, and whatever fertilizer they sell.

Home Depot and Lowe's are not garden centers.......they are home improvement stores that happen to sell a few plants :-) I would never consider them a reliable source for any horticultural information!!

Not familiar enough with your area to be able to assess but apparently you do not enjoy the same level of independent retail nurseries and garden centers we do out here, even in very urban areas. We are fortunate to have lots, some very big and very good! Others smaller but still heads and shoulders above anything offered by the box stores.

Except for the tree in the first picture, it's hard to believe there is any new growth or leaves at all on those in the second or third picture. They're basically dead.

The top one is encapsulating the wound and should recover if no future damage occurs.

In the fall, use tree protector tubes or wrap on trees that size. Buck deer look for those kinds of trees but it generally means that there are Doe deer feeding in the area. The bucks like to mark territory by rubbing the trees in that area. Buck deer also will rub early season to remove the 'velvet' as it dries and the antlers harden.

They all have a full canopy of healthy looking leaves. They really have no chance at all? I can’t scrape away some of the mushy bark and apply something to help them? It’s so sad.

You can certainly try. But I wouldn't put money on the outcome. And there is nothing you can apply to the rot/wound that would help except fresh air.

Ok. Thanks. What an absolute shame. Just as they were getting some good growth on them.

We have several independent nurseries here. I guess they don’t have the knowledge necessary for this kind of thing.

I wouldn't like to comment on what the nursery instructed or not. Whatever they suggested, it appears it was on for too long or became too tight to cause that narrowing (and swelling above and below) and that degree of rot.

Plastic sleeves for deer protection are pretty common. Consider some of the suggestions in this recently revitalized thread: https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5494021/don-t-forgot-to-put-your-tree-protectors-on#n=19

Thank you for the update.