A couple winters ago in upstate NY Porcupines girdled branches from 3 feet up on a Toka plum. It was Turkey season, had not done bridge grafting before. This tree top would be all dead soon once the weather warm up. The graft was successful and the bark is growing quickly back to cover the branches. I took pencil diameter cuttings from the tree top. I sharpend both ends on an angle and inserted under the bark like a bark graft.

I never unwrapped the ones I did in April 2011 where the voles (or possibly rabbits) girdled my three young apples at the base. Two of the trees are great, the third looked good all last summer, started to leaf out this spring, and then died in the past few weeks. Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Should I unwrap the other two now?

Im looking forward to this thread! I need to do a bridge graft on my young citrus tree:-( Weed whipper injury about a year ago.

I heard its pretty simple. Cut the proper sized branches from above and bridge them in over the damaged spot. Do thi by cutting a couple holes and sharpening the edges of the branches used for the graft. Theres more to it than that but theaceofspades has it basically down... I would like to see some pics though

Thank you all!
Pictures would be nice!
But,...like in my link, why a bridge graft when you still have leaving tissue? That tree still would have leafed out without two little twigs put in.
My understanding,.. bridge graft something when you have a total loss of bark.

I'm thinking of a new technique, the way human skin is sometimes bridged over to give blood to new tissue.

OK...lets say your trunk is 2 inch in diam. and you have total loss of bark several inches up. I'm thinking of cutting a couple of bark strips of about 1/2 inch wide from the bottom trunk several inches long to reach the top, but,...not separating it from the bottom trunk, leave the bottom attached, about a inch down, flip the loose bark/strip over with a 180 degree twist and tie into the upper bark.
Think I'll experiment on a poplar tree to see what happens.

I've seen one's on TV, a patient receiving a graft for a reconstructive noose job when the tissue was fed by a flip graft, and I think it had to be twisted by 180 degree.

Konrad,
The photo looks like tubes are inserted. Bad bunnies.
I did a bridge graft(my first) for a friend who only had a 1/2" strip left on a 2 1/2" trunk.
I ended up cutting off 3 root suckers and inserting them. Voila.
They look as if they've taken, at least from the root due to some sprouts.
Try the 180 twist and let us know.

I don't know about rotating the strip 180. Would it lose directional flow of sap?

Konrad, it took me awhile to imagine what you are saying. The strip would be cut around the top of the lower part, right (side to side, not up and down)? I was first thinking up and down but that could never reach the top. The problem with this method is unless the damage just happened a day or less ago the damaged cambium is already dead, and just laying the strip over that dead zone will never work. But, if the bark was folded or twisted onto itself across this whole dead area, who knows, maybe that could work. I have a feeling it would not, there would be no cambium or phloem and since the growth is from cambium I don't think bark could grow cambium.

I tried a couple bridge grafts many years ago on peaches and they all failed.

Scott

I have only tried bridge grafting a couple times. At a friend's who got inattentive with a weedwacker near some young trees. Both failed, don't know why. The wounds were only a day old, the trees were just leafing out. I thought it was a near perfect opportunity to use employ the technique.

I do know that on a vigorous established tree, it takes amazing little tissue to keep the tree going. I have had several apple that round headed borers got into severely. In chasing the grubs I nearly girdled the trees. On a 2-3" diameter tree there were maybe 3 strips still vertically intact, none wider than 1/2". They bounced back, in mid summer no less.
Like wise 2-3 years ago I watched a young feral tree get it's bark eaten off by a new horse in the pasture over winter. From the ground to horse-head high almost every bit chewed. That tree also recovered. I drive by it everyday and am amazed how healthy it appears this year. I wish I had gotten out of the car back when the damage happened and looked closer to see how much intact cambium was left after the initial damage. From 15' away it didn't look like any.