Repair damaged bark, Texas Persimmon tree. (trees, red insect, insects, backyard)

[CptnRn]

We have a lovely Texas Persimmon tree in our backyard. It has a thin smooth bark over its trunk and branches that seems to get damaged easily. See the black streeks here for example:



I noticed recently several spots like that near the ground where it looks like rott is beginning in the exposed trunk. I also found some of these areas where there appeared to be black/red ant's burrowing into the wood.

I'm wondering if I should seal and cover these areas with some kind of a bark sealer or coating? I have heard this recommended in the past when prunning branches off, but I also seem to recall reading that it isn't recommended any longer.

Doing nothing is clearly resulting in rotting and deterioration. I have used epoxy with filler in the past to repair and seal rotted wood on sailboats. I'm wondering if something like this would help the tree as well.

When vacationing in Mexico and the Virgin Islands I noticed a lot of trees in public areas have the bottom 3 or 4 feet of the trunks painted white or whitewashed. I wonder if this is recommended.

[southernnaturelover]

Is that one branch dead? It looks it to me. Once rot starts it's impossible to stop, believe me I have tried every remedy. The problem with coatings is that they trap in moisture, which may make things worse. Some trees are able to release a chemical which "walls off" decay from within, but you wont really know if that has happened or not. There is a person on the garden forums which recommends painting recent wounds with liquid copper fungicide 50/50 with water (it will have a blue color), but I can't say if it helps.


The whitewash you see on trees in other countries is probably just white paint. I think they do it so people can see the trees better at night. Back in the old days people would sometimes mix lime and water to make a paste, and then paint it on the tree trunk. This supposedly deterred insects, but I'm skeptical of that. I never see it done anymore.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by southernnaturelover

Is that one branch dead? It looks it to me. Once rot starts it's impossible to stop, believe me I have tried every remedy. The problem with coatings is that they trap in moisture, which may make things worse. Some trees are able to release a chemical which "walls off" decay from within, but you wont really know if that has happened or not. There is a person on the garden forums which recommends painting recent wounds with liquid copper fungicide 50/50 with water (it will have a blue color), but I can't say if it helps.


The whitewash you see on trees in other countries is probably just white paint. I think they do it so people can see the trees better at night. Back in the old days people would sometimes mix lime and water to make a paste, and then paint it on the tree trunk. This supposedly deterred insects, but I'm skeptical of that. I never see it done anymore.

Thank you for your response. The branch you refer to is not dead, but I can understand you thinking that. The bark is smooth and grey so it may look like it, but the bark has wrapped it self around the edges of that wound, the tree is trying to heal itself. Oddly enough that wound is a continuous stripe down that branch for almost 8 feet. It appears to start at a broken limb at the top of the wound. The tree has several smaller but similar wounds, all of which seem to begin with a broken branch at the top. I think I need to be more proactive at pruning any broken branches in the future to keep those from developing. The bark is thin and appears to be easily damaged. There are several knotholes where a branch was broken off but not pruned and now is rotting into the trunk. Some of those face upwards and collect rainwater, I suspect it would be a good idea to fill and seal those, even if all it does is slow down the deterioration.

Here is a nice photo of a healthy Texas Persimmon.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_QxIWnh1AaFY/Rh54OtkMzBI/AAAAAAAAACI/zw1Onyq1QBY/DSC_0006.JPG (broken link)

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_QxIWnh1AaFY/Rh54OtkMzBI/AAAAAAAAACI/zw1Onyq1QBY/DSC_0006.JPG (broken link)

What research I have done on the net regarding repairing damaged trees says more or less this:

How to Repair Damaged Tree Bark - MonsterGuide.net

Tree Sealing Products
There are a few tree healing products in the market that claim to repair the tree simply by spraying on what looks like black paint. We have yet to come across any real proof that this helps the tree to heal. It could in fact limit the trees natural ability to heal well and slow down the healing process. Hence it is better to stick to the natural method of allowing the tree to heal itself, as we know it works.

But it is hard for me to ignore those open rain catchers. I may try repairing one or two of the worst ones and see how they do.

Here is a good tree repair brochure I found at the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture:

http://www.utextension.utk.edu/publi...iles/SP683.pdf