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Folks in NE
-Nebraska Talent

*How To Do Bridge Grafting*

The snow has melted, and I notice that mice or rabbits have chewed the bark down
to the heartwood, right around the stem on several of my apple trees.
Should I paint the wounds, or what?

Painting tree wounds is no longer recommended, but when the tree trunk has been "girdled," or destroyed around the circumference of the tree, painting the wound will not replace the vital but now missing living layers of cells just beneath the bark. Unless the damage is repaired quickly, the tree will not live for more than a year or two.

Fortunately, rodent damage can usually be repaired by a technique, called "bridge grafting," that literally bridges the gap in the living tissues so that they can continue the tree's growth as well as transport needed nutrients to and from the tree's leaves and roots.

To use bridge grafting on your tree's wound, use a sharp knife and remove all frayed or loose bark around the wound.
Next, remove a sucker or other slender, long, branchlet from the tree and cut it into lengths just a bit longer than the wound, measured from top to bottom.
Sharpen these sticks into wedges at both ends and insert them under the bark at the top and bottom of the wound. Several of these "bridges" will be needed, spaced at intervals around the tree.

Finally, protect the wound by covering the entire area with grafting wax. In a few years the wound will be healed and the tree will grow normally.

This Article and others are available in the March/April issue of the Arbor Day:
An official publication of
The National Arbor Day Foundation
100 Arbor Avenue
Nebraska City, NE 68410
402-474-5655
www.arborday.org