Hole In Tree - Ask Extension
In my back yard I have a nice birch with a hole in its trunk, . The hole is about 5 feet above ground, 6 inches across at the opening, tapering in a ...
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Hole In Tree #720379
Asked September 02, 2020, 7:22 PM EDT
In my back yard I have a nice birch with a hole in its trunk, . The hole is about 5 feet above ground, 6 inches across at the opening, tapering in a downward direction about 8 inches to a small hole maybe the size of a quarter running an unknown distance down inside the truck. Water tends to run down the truck and into the hole so it is wet all winter.. The trunk is about a foot in diameter, may bigger,around the hole.
I read that it should definitely be:
A. Left to heal on its own, or.
B. Filled with expandable foam, or
C. Covered with a screen and plaster; or
D. Not to be worried about.
What do you think?
Marion County Oregon
Expert Response
The hole appears to be where a limb was removed at some point in the past and whatever was left of the limb itself rotted away, leaving te round hole. Wounds like these on trees are "walled off" from the living tissues of the tree by a process called compartmentalization, in which the tree develops internal barriers to invasion by disease i=or insects or other pests. So there is no need to be concerned about it and no need to fill or cover it.
