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Landscape Design Ask The Yard Doctor Trees

Botched pruning of maple tree - Options for correcting?

5 years ago

Hi Everyone,

We bought an old neglected house and have been fixing it up over the past 3 years. I have moved on to the gardening and I need to figure out what to do with this botched tree pruning. The tree in the picture is a Manitoba Maple and a big branch was hacked off above the collar at some point.

Can I simply take my chainsaw and cut it closer to the tree so that the tree can heal over the cut?

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Comments (4)

Anne Duke
5 years ago
I’d leave well enough alone. Call it character.
cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
IMO it's a very old wound that the tree has already healed. I wouldn't re-open it up again.

There's never 'perfection' in anything when you garden, so you may as well start getting used to cosmetic flaws.
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bengz6westmd
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
I'd have to agree -- trying to "fix" this is just going to hurt the tree (the size of the wound will actually increase). The good thing is the exposed wood looks dry and so should resist rotting.
lkloes
5 years ago
You could disguise it a bit by hanging a wrought iron planter filled with colorful annuals and cascading ivy. One nail hole shouldn’t cause damage to the tree.

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