Ramble: If you can post a picture, I could give you some specific instructions on how to prepare this wound for the application of liquid copper fungicide to prevent wood rot from entering this tree. When a branch is torn away from the trunk of a tree, the wound can be ugly--very ragged and can include a cavity in the tree trunk. Some trimming/surgery on this wound would be needed before the liquid copper fungicide can be effectively used. Hortster: As for Dr. Shigo: a couple of years ago I posted a summary of an article published in the Journal of Forestry by Professor Kevin O'Hara. This article focused on the issue of the branch collar when pruning tree limbs. AS part of the discussion focused on the "work" of Dr. Shigo, and reported that Dr. Shigo's "research" was essentially non-existant, or at the very least was seldom, if ever peer reviewed. Also, Dr. Shigo seemed completely unaware of something like 150 years of research on the issue of pruning limbs and cutting or not cutting into the branch collar. I conclude from what Professor O'Hara included in his scholarly article on this issue, that Dr. Shigo was more or less (I think more) of a fraud. I think his assertion that trees do not need any treatment for wounds to be completely incorrect. In his defense, there can be some "walling off" in trees to prevent wood rot from spreading into a tree, but from my years of timber growing, timber cutting cutting, and log grading, I can report that the effect is at best only partial, and substantial wounds to trees often result in rot entering and spreading inside trees, often resulting in their descruction. His assertion that nothing should be done to treat tree wounds has done more harm to trees than anything I can think of. It is true that some of the more "traditional" tree wound treatments can do more harm than good, but that does not mean that some treatments, such as the one I have been using for over 20 years, are worthless or harmful. I know Dr. Shigo has over the years become something of a cult figure, and it will take the work of many more people like Professor Kevin O'Hara to finally undo all the damage this man has done. Here is the reference for Dr. O'Hara's article: OÂHara, K.L. 2007. Pruning wounds and occlusion: A long-standing conundrum in forestry. Journal of Forestry 105(3): 131-138. --Spruce

Ah yes, I now remember the liquid copper fungicide threads from a few years back. They were good reads and might have helped me form my belief that eventually we will find something to coat open wood in trees with. Also, a proper pruning cut is really not going to be much trouble on most trees if we let nature take its course. I worry about the large open wounds that stay open for a half a decade or in some cases that will not be encapsulated any time soon. My neighbor pruned off a whole half of a fifty foot tall silver maple. I don't know if it will ever seal off the two foot across wound. Just watching him treat the wood in his deck so it does not rot and split next to the splitting / rotting / rain grabbing hole in the maple gets me thinking. Also, the SAME silly tree has encapsulated an old rusty metal fence post with seemingly no ill effects, so I get thinking about treatments. I would contend Shigo and CODIT are seem focused on small wounds and are not forward thinking scientifically. Not necessarily wrong, but that open maple seems to have a near 100% chance of rotting from its base under that terrible wound.

Yes .. this is true .. on a process level there are differences but still wound closure can be very complete leaving only a relatively minute "scar" and along with included branch wood below the surface still sound and intact. Cavities are not the norm but the result of poorly planned wounds or inadvertant wounding encountered as the tree grows under less then ideal conditions. Ofcourse nothing is 100 % ... but trees move slowly. As a japanese gardener who wishes to manipulate trees it would seem to be of benafit to understand how to work with the trees system ... in some respects Shigo was a bit "rigid" in his tree work .. his original goal was working with trees for lumber straight trees with little defects .. many arborist I work with are also rigid. There is a trend against manipulating plant materials as if it can't be done in a sound manner. Topping we all know is bad for a tree but some have suggested pollarding as not good for a tree .. one arborist well respected locally used to point out the difference between topping and well planned pollarding .. a pruning art he called it .. but later perhaps under pressure from the days dogma .. has avoided mentioning pollarding at all .. kinda a taboo subject in a crowd of arborist these days. Can we manipulate plant materials and still have a sound tree given we understand the trees biology /growth ect..?? To what extent ? Is a bonsai tree biologicaly stable as a "textbook" well pruned Oak ? Are Japanese gardens biologicaly sound ? Good Day ...

Unfortunately this particular forum has less hope of survival than your fig. I'd go for some specialist arborist advice try the DPI for your state ? and persist until you can either find advice or a recommendation elsewhere http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/aboutus/about/contact