Hello Amy. Welcome aboard.

Is that the east side of the tree where the rising sun has a chance to heat it up amd cause a crack?

Does it look like the tree is growing around the wound? I think I can see that on the right side of the pic.

The tree is probably too big to wrap to prevent further sun damage.

No one has yet figured out a sure fire neosporen type treatment for trees. Unless you feel lucky stay away from the snake oil. I would probably spray the wound with some insecticide approved for plants. The idea is to keep bugs from causing rot in there before the tree can encapsulate the wound.

BTW, it looks like the tree is a good distance from your home where it is not a safety concern. If it has a chance to fall on you or your kids get an arborist over and have a short leash with it.

The scar faces due west. And yes, the tree is located fairly far away from the house. We just had to take down some Ash trees this spring and I don't want to take down another tree if I don't have to.

Hi amyspaetzle

how do you irrigate this tree?!
I think that bad irrigation may cause this disorder
during irrigation you have to keep water away from trunk to avoid this disorder

a tree this size does NOT need irrigation ... and that green lawn.. is proof positive of the fact that there is no lack of water available ...

but i appreciate Egypt's try ... you have to ALWAYS be thinking outside the box.. eh??

ken

Caused by bugs...no way
Further damaged by bugs...no sign of that, save the insecticide for when you need it for something.

Let us know more about what's happening/happened around the base of this tree. It was either planted way to deep or soil has been built up around it's base. Either of these is bad. The fact that the wound extends down past ground level is a really bad sign.

PS...

Irrigation the cause...no way

This tree is in the corner of my lot. No cars/road nearby.
There is no irrigation in the yard. Trust me, the previous owners were not the best when it came to taking care of the yard. The tree appears to be flush with surrounding dirt. No volcano piles of mulch either. Please excuse the bricks. We were relocating a pile and a few were left behind in the pic. The soil disturbance behind the tree is just some thinning grass. We had so much rain last year most of the backyard was wet all summer and we couldn't cut the grass. By removing the ash trees, a lot more sunlight comes in and I'm hoping the lawn thickens up. Other than the scar, the tree appears healthy.

lets be VERY CLEAR.. that damage could be upwards of a decade old..

there is NOTHING to worry about.. NOTHING to cure ...

and odds are high.. that you will NEVER know what happened.. or why ...

the vast amount of 'healing'.. 'encapsulation' means the tree is well on the way to taking care of itself ..

once it is fully leafed out.. ONLY if there are large dead areas in the canopy .. would we start to be concerned ...

put down whatever you have in your hand .... and step away ...

you have many other things to think about in your garden.. and this tree is NOT one of them ... other than to enjoy it ...

is that plain enough.. lol ...

ken

I don't agree with some of what Ken says. The tree is significantly damaged in a way that rot is likely. Rot can significantly weaken the trunk and create a tree that is much more likely to fail. As the tree ages and grows, the rot is likely to spread and the tree may be more likely to collapse, especially in windy conditions. Whether the tree will be able to successfully encapsulate and block off the rot is an unknown, so a variety of outcomes is possible.

It appears that the tree was planted incorrectly, and this has likely contributed to the problem your tree now faces. The exact, and complete, cause may be unknowable, but at least some of the problem (improper planting) is fairly clear.

Where I do agree with Ken, is that there isn't much you can do, at this point, to "fix" the situation. Your choices at this point are to either wait and see and enjoy the tree while you can, or, cut it down and replace it (not necessarily in that order - you could plant a replacement and let it get a start before removing the existing tree). If the tree poses a danger to your home or safety, I would consider keeping an eye on it and removing it before it's likely to cause a problem.

Take an airspade to the base of the tree, expose flare. May need to go down six inches or more. A buried root flare equals split in trunk, ancient chinese secret.

Where I do agree with Ken, is that there isn't much you can do, at this point, to "fix" the situation.

===>>> thats what i meant ...

EXCEPT... does any of it overhang the house??? can we see a pic of the whole???

you might have to think about getting rid of it

ken

It's an old ding of some kind. Or......the too-deep planting caused it. Either one could be true. But aside from some truly heroic measures, like Mackel's suggestion to air-spade the root flare area, there's nothing to be done.

There's lots of trees out there with varying degrees of similar injuries. It's bad for them and for us, the owners of these trees, but it would be wrong to think the tree is necessarily doomed. Just do as others have already said: Keep an eye on it-the best sign of root damage is dying branches-and otherwise enjoy it.

+oM

Without observing the roots via an air spade which is very simple procedure, how to know root damage? Curious cat catch mouse now. Instant relief for tree, amazing and only a large circling root may prove to be fatal. Much better diagnostics. Air spade not much trouble only initial capital investment, customer appreciate answer of definity in regards to tree. Must have tool for modern treeman. All trees love magic touch of airspade, love it whether doomed, or not.

Mackel

Seen em in action Mack, and indeed, they are impressive. Does seem a bit outside the norm in terms of household tools to me though!

+oM