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Tree hit by car

14 years ago

I have a Live Oak on my property, about 2 feet across at the trunk, that was hit by a car. A section of bark 2 feet wide and 4 feet high was totally removed from the trunk. Can that kill the tree? What care does the tree need and what could it cost? I live near Sacramento, Ca.Thanks for all replies.

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Comments (5)

Dan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
14 years ago
You have a valley oak or a blue oak most likely if you're on the valley floor or closer to the Gold Country. You could have a coast live oak if you are closer to the Coast Range.

Nonetheless, it could kill the tree, or the tree could recover. Not much to do with a tree that size. There's a few folks closer to Winters that are very good and will charge you to come out and look at it and may remove a little more bark and give you some literature and tell you that not much can be done, look along any rural road and see how many car strikes there are on trees that size and how many resulted in death.

Good luck.

Dan
brandon7 TN_zone7
14 years ago
This might be a good application for Spruceman's liquid copper fungicide idea. See link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Preventing Wood Rot in Trees--Liquid Copper Fungicide
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Dan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
14 years ago
What the heck - it won't hurt anything AFAICT.

Dan
spruceman
14 years ago
Thanks, Brandon for posting the link. The damage to this tree is a prime, although a bit extreme, case where the use of the liquid copper fungicide can prevent the wood of a tree from being infected by rot. Without treatment this tree may live a long time, but the wood of the trunk will be infected by fungi, and eventually the tree will become hollow. This may weaken the tree and eventually shorten its life.

The specific advice I would give in addition to what Brandon gave the link to, is, first, do nothing for at least 3 months, maybe better 4 or 5. The wood needs to thoroughly dry out before an application of liquid copper fungicide can be absorbed into the wood surface.

Also, don't try to trim away any loose bark until at least later in the summer; best, not until the fall when the tree's growth has stopped for the year. Then gently remove any lose bark. You don't want to be too aggressive doing this because you can extend the damage.

But some of the cambium/bark at the edges of the wound may be killed, but not seem to be loose. So as the callus tissue begins to grow around the edges of the injury, you may begin to notice that some more of the bark may become loose--it may take two or three years for this to become apparent. When it is apparent that there is old bark covering a part of the trunk that is not growing underneath, try to loosen and remove this bark and then apply the liquid copper fungicide underneath. Again, be gentle in removing this old bark covering the dead part of the trunk underneath.

Figfarmer--I think if you use the liquid copper fungicide as I suggest, being sure to refresh it annually, your tree will have a good long life to come, free of fungal wood rot.

-Spruce
figfarmer
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks for all replies and suggestions. FF

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