Using PL-Premium (construction adhesive) to fill holes in tree trunks - Page 3

 

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The proper way to prune a silver maple (much different from red or sugar
maples) is horizontally just above ground level. Then, apply copious
amounts of Roundup or similar herbicide to kill the roots, including
where they break the surface and sprout more silver maples (about every
two or three feet--on each root).

Those roots were a nightmare when cutting the grass; some of the roots
would get high enough to interfere with the mower blade, ocasionally
bending it. I cut mine down within a few years of buying my first house.
The sugar maple which was planted at the same time (1956) is still
growing well. I bought the house in 1979; at that time the silver maple
was about 25' tall, the sugar maple was probably over 40' and now is
at least 60. Sugar and red maples are keepers; silver maples are pretty
(white bark, oval leaves dark green on top and silver-white on the
bottom, hence the name) but incompatible with a lawn or any structures.

I don't miss my silver maple at all. I miss the sugar maple that was
hit by lightning and eventually blown down back in the '90s. The
remaining two are still great trees.


Gary

--
Gary Heston  gheston@hiwaay.net   http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/

If you want to reduce the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere,
go plant trees.

 


what insect makes a hole 3"

 

ransley wrote:


The exposed inner heart-wood of the tree has a circular profile and is
3" in diameter, and it oriented vertically with respect to the ground.
This is where a secondary trunk had been, which was cut maybe 2 or 3
years ago.

This circular area was sprayed with pruning paint last year.  The
surface was solid and intact at that time.  The bark is growing nicely
around the perimiter of this area (this is a silver maple).  I have two
such similar cuts on a sugar maple - the exposed area was even larger (4
or 5") and painted them soon after the cut was made.  This was about 5
years ago.  They are 75% covered over now by the growing bark, and they
remained solid (no rot, holes, fissures developing in them).

Getting back to the silver maple, at some point this year I noticed the
appearance of some cracks or voids on the cut surface along with what
looked like sawdust shavings around the crack.  Yesterday I shoved the
plastic dispensing nozzle of a tube of PL Premium deep into the main
crack (it went in all the way - I wasn't expecting that) and I pumped
the crack full of glue.

 


Seems like that would be ok.  It's going to be a weak spot even after
the tree grows over it.  But there's nothing you can do about that.

 



What insect *induces* rot?    All the wood eating critters I know
about show up after the wood is dead.


Those decks and stuff are *dead* wood.  Presumably you cut the branch
off on a live tree.   The tree will bleed and heal the wound much
better without being insulted further by some foreign sealer.


I prefer to apply lead directly to the squirrels.    But I don't think
squirrels do any damage to hollows in trees

Jim