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trunk damage to maple tree #760276

Asked July 06, 2021, 1:36 PM EDT

My Redpoint Maple was planted last August 2019. The man who planted it said the tree was approximately 10 years old. It was healthy when planted and appears to be growing nicely. When my husband and I were putting the cicada netting on our Redpoint Maple on, we noticed a linear injury to the trunk. We speculated that it was done by the deer that roam the neighborhood every day. As you can see from the pictures the cicada netting covered a good portion of the trunk. When we took off the cicada netting on July 5th, we noticed the injured area got a LOT worse. Today I took the pictures (attached) of the current injury to Valley View Nursery where we bought the tree. It was determined by employees that this was a result of deer (even though most of that area was covered by netting). The employee sold me Pruning Sealer (protective seal for pruned or damaged trees, shrugs and roses) by GardenRich and then to wrap with “Tangle Guard banding material. Is Valley View correct on their diagnosis and treatment? Thank you for your help, Gigi

Baltimore County Maryland

Expert Response

The diagnosis of deer damage sounds correct but this type of damage tends to happen in the fall when male bucks rub their antlers on tree trunks. 

We would not recommend the use of a pruning sealer or wrapping the trunk with the 'Tangle Guard' banding. The sealer can actually interfere with the tree's ability to form callus tissue to try to seal off the damage itself. This is a pretty significant wound and can have a negative impact on the health of the tree in the future. To lessen the stress on the tree, keep it watered during hot and dry periods this summer. 

The tree also looks like it was planted too deeply which can also stress trees. Gently remove any mulch or soil that is touching the trunk near the ground. 

Scroll down to the section of this information to where it talks about 'Correcting Overmulched Trees' (the same is true for too much soil) for a demonstration of removing mulch/soil,

https://extension.psu.edu/mulching-landscape-trees

In September, to protect the tree from further deer damage install a trunk guard or wrap wire mesh around stakes hammered into the ground around the trunk. This is something that the folks at Valley View can help you with. They must stock plenty of supplies to protect trees from deer.

Deb

Answered by the Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC), University of Maryland Extension. For timely gardening information and tips, subscribe to our Maryland Grows blog and quarterly newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Replied July 07, 2021, 2:44 PM EDT

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