Truck Hits Sycamore

I just came home from lunch to find a huge limb broken from my sycamore tree. Can this tree be saved?

I'm in shock, this just happened.

Nasty damage, but it should live OK; planes are long-lived trees and can cope with large wounds like this.

Resin

Oh no, is the truck ok?

Growin, I was told by our town's public works department that it was hit by a truck as reported by a bystander. The truck didn't stick around so I don't know about damage on that end. I call it my tree, but it actually belongs to the town since it is on the section of grass between the curb and the sidewalk. When I spoke to public works, they said they had a "tree guy" that will take a look at it.

Shouldn't they trim up the gash right away? How soon before disease can set in?

I'll bet they want to cut it down since it is next to a public street (unless your town is like mine and don't care). There's no guarantee against rot. It's a shame this happened, it looks like it provides lots of shade.

With any luck it will die a slow death. They are the worst trees ever round here!
Seriously the exposed wood will rot if it is not sealed with a fungicide.

I think the wound gives it character. Now, whenever the truck driver (if he/she is ok) goes down that street they'll look at that tree with a different view on life maybe, and things besides people. My vote is that tree will look bad but not miss a beat. I wish I had a tree in my yard that had been hit by a truck. It would be something of an attraction. People get injured too and they come out unscathed, only with battle-scars. Of course, I would never wish an accident like that on anything.
See the very big, very old American Sycamore in the background of this photo? It had a large lower branch break off. I have a before paper photo of this tree with the branch to attest how large it was, it was the size of a small tree itself. Anyhow, the tree is fine today.
That other one in the foreground is no slouch either. That is the one that I was also interested in taking a photo of.
Look at them in comparison to the house there.
Will

I've seen people paint damage like that. Seals out fungus.

Actually, it seals in fungus, and is a bad, bad thing. However quick you slap the paint on, some fungal spores always get in first, and are then given an ideal protected environment to grow in. The best fungicide is dry air and sunshine.

Resin

The top of the break is very jagged with wood fiber. Should it be sawed smooth to help it heal over?

I know it's not the best street tree to have. It's frequently dropping limbs and at the first sign of a drought it drops leaves. But the bark is so lovely and it shades Bill and me when we sit outside. Robins nest in it every year. It's a big tree so it's probably been here since the house was built in 1927. I would truly hate to see it go.

I have learned the only thing you can do to help tree wounds is to maybe spray it with Sevin occasionally to control insects and then wait it out.

I have got some old trees here with fire wounds around the bottom and it is a waiting game for me too.

Yes, I'd smooth down those jagged places for cosmetics, I doubt that it will be harmful, but I'm not an arborist.
Will

Ok ignore me if you like but honestly check it out with an arborist. Spray with fungicide and use a product like arbrex to seal it. They don't just make those products for fun.
It will rot eventually but its about keeping the weather off.
Its like the skin has been stripped off a bone now would you use antibiotics and bandages?
Unfortunatley you can't use antibiotics on trees.
All the prunus family fall prey to that fate after getting wounded and not cleaning saws etc.

The overwhelming evidence studying these products indicates that they interfere with the tree's own anti-fungal/anti-bacteria chemicals and processes. The only time I see sealants recommended anymore is for growing-season cuts on oak trees in areas where oak wilt is known.

Scott

I'd recommend NOT doing so - any more cutting off of anything will reduce the tree's options on compartmentalising the wound.



No, they make them to make money out of suckers ;-)



Actually, you can. The antibiotic to use is the saprophytic mould Trichoderma. Available as a paint-on or spray-on application from a variety of sources. The Trichoderma grows on the surface of the wood, and produces a variety of natural antibiotics which are very antagonistic to several disease and decay fungi.

Resin

Thank you all for your advice. I guess it's not up to me, but I'm hoping the town's "tree guy" will just leave it be and hope for the best.

It will be interesting to watch the tree and see how it (hopefully) recovers. I'll take pictures in a few weeks and post them here if anyone is interested.

Sherry

I just visited the place where I lived during high school (about 500 years ago!). Several dozen red and white oak trees in the woods behind the house there had been split apart like that by a tornado in 1965. Some are gone now, but others have sealed over the wounds so much they are hardly noticeable anymore. I think a lot depends upon what you are willing to risk in an area where there are "targets" driving down the road every day for a rotten tree to fall on, and upon how important keeping the tree is to you.

Guy S.

Resin, do you know the brand name of the product you mentioned? A while back we discussed bio-active wound paint, but I looked it up a few days ago and couldn't find anything.

Hi escambiaguy - sorry, don't know (and even if I did, they'd be different here to the US), though there's probably several available. Try a google search Trichoderma + tree wound (or various other wordings)

Resin

This is a helpful website : http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/misc/treedecay/pg9-11.htm

I do hope your town is in the habit of trying to preserve trees. I think this tree can heal on its own.
Too bad about the hit and run truck--I hope he gets a disease in his engine.