Knowledgebase
Oak tree sapling just got girdled. Can I save it? #748951
Asked May 09, 2021, 7:58 PM EDT
Columbia County Oregon
Expert Response
Darryl: This is a follow-up to your earlier direct email. It looks pretty tough. Grafting is rarely done on oaks and more complex techniques have never, to my searching, been done. Some people have had some luck with traditional grafts to start an entirely new plant but references are very slim. See the one pdf below.
Sometimes the “girdle” hasn’t been deep enough to actually destroyed the cambium and the tree might recover. This is more common on older trees than this one. Wrapping the exposed bark with something reflective but with air flow might help. Again, on this tree, I wouldn’t count on it to recover. Chip