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New Forest Pansy Redbud tree with trunk wounds - need advice

8 years ago

We just had a landscaping company come in and plant several trees and bushes. One of the trees we had planted was a new Forest Pansy Redbud in our front yard. It was planted two days ago. We have noticed that the tree has one wound on it about mid way up the trunk that is about 2 inches long. It also appears to have a split type wound on the lowest branch that is also 2 inches long, but it is a much narrower wound. I have attached several photos of both wounds below along with a photo of the entire tree. The trunk wound is a little obscured by the support stick, but I tried to get the best pictures I could.

We are total newbies when it comes to trees and these are our first trees we have ever planted. How concerned should we be about these wounds? Are they likely to cause problems as the tree ages? The tree is nice looking otherwise, so we didn't know if we should complain to the landscaper or not. We didn't know if this was a common thing and a replacement tree may have similar issues, etc. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

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Comments (8)

Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
8 years ago
The split in the branch is new. The angled stake is interesting. The wound lower in the trunk looks to be sealing nicely.

man, what would I do....

Can ya post a picture of where the trunk meets the ground. I THINK I see root flare. That would be a good sign.

I would like to see how the lumber is attached to the tree. I imagine something is needed to keep a big leafed out transplant upright.

I would send the arborist a picture of that split in the branch. Then another pic of it in a few weeks. That one has my attention.
LunaArt
Original Author
8 years ago
Thank you so much for your help! I have included the photos you asked for below. Our landscape designer recommends that we keep the supports in place for around one year and take them off somewhere around Nov. 2016. So you don't think we need to ask for a different FPR tree? Are these common enough problems that we might end up with similar issues with any FPR tree we get? Thanks again so much!

Here is picture of the full trunk. The split wound is at the very top middle of the pic., to get an idea of how each of the wounds are located to each other.

Here is a close-up of the bottom of the trunk.

Here is a better picture of the support lumber from the side.

And, here is a close-up of how the support lumber is attached to the tree.

Just let me know if you or anyone else would like to see any other photos of the tree to give us advice. ~Thanks!
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good on the root flare.. the black thing is bugging me... its black.. its going to make the trunk hot.. i vaguely see shadows.... i would get some proper tree guards.. to avoid winter sunscald in z5 ... and please... very frankly .... on your next tree... buy it at half the height... you did NOT do good.. buying such a spindly-trunked tree ... i presume you thought to yourself.. good.. more height... but you should now understand.. that it can barely hold itself up with the leaves on it.. and staking it is near impossible.. smaller trees.. get established faster.. and outgrow larger transplant.. you save about half the cost ... and most of the trouble ... it was a hard lesson in my formative tree years to understand.. there is no instant gratification on trees....short of spending thousands of dollars for professional installation of big trees .... as to your staking.. i have no answer.. i did that ONCE!!!! .. and a mid summer thunderstorm/windstorm.. snapped it right at the point where it is attached.. the big sailboat of a canopy.. just cracked it right in half .... it recovered after a few year ... with some very creative pruning ... i can already see the tree is beating the stake.. giving it a hockey stick curve .... and the attaching wire looks taut as a bow string ... based on all that... i MIGHT consider removing the branch with the wound.. if for no other reason.. to reduce the sail effect of the canopy .... and reduce wind resistance.... it really does go against doing such on a recent transplant.... but as the tree stands.... its an option i might have to consider ... I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR WHAT THE REST OF YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THIS ... the one upside might be if the house blocks prevailing storm winds .... ken
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
8 years ago
pull back the mulch and find out where the root flare is ... snap a pic ...

what is your native soil ...

i dont know if i would complain ... but i would discuss such with them.. before the last check is handed over

ken
akamainegrower
8 years ago
Redbuds tend to be canker prone and that appears to be what you have on the trunk and branch. The one on the trunk seems to be healing over quite well. There's really no reason why the one on the branch won't do the same thing. Avoid wetting the bark with sprinklers, etc. and keep the moisture-holding mulch out of direct contact with the tree. Trees are quite capable of dealing with canker on their own once they reach a certain size - like yours - if they are kept growing vigorously.
LunaArt
Original Author
8 years ago
Okay, I dug down a few inches around the trunk and took a picture. I hope you can see it well enough. We live in Northeast Kansas (Topeka) and I believe our native soil is clay loam or possibly silty clay loam. Please let me know what you think and thanks so much for the the information given so far.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
8 years ago
perfect ... spread just enough mulch back over the soil ... do not backfill

your soil ... and the BB soil look kinda similar.. as far as i can tell from your pix and description ... the stake is there so the sailboat sail planted.. doesnt move the rootball ... until the roots grab native soil ...

i cant figure that weird staking.. but its the second time i have seen it this spring... all i can figure ... is that they dont want to pound it into the root ball planted ...

good luck

ken
LunaArt
Original Author
8 years ago
Super! We will do that. We had 10 different trees planted in total, so we will be sure to pull back the mulch on each of them so it does not touch the trunk - we have read that about 4 inches away from the trunk is good.

I will definitely discuss and point out the two canker wounds on the tree to our landscape person the next time we talk with her and during our final walk through.

As, I said we are newbies when it comes to trees. It is going to be a fun adventure caring for and enjoying our new trees for many years to come. I really appreciate everyone's help, advice and information! I'm sure I will be back from time to time with more questions as they arise. :)
brandon7 TN_zone7
8 years ago
I see burlap. I guess they didn't remove that when planting the tree (they should have, at least around the top and sides), but it does look like they probably at least loosened it and got it away from the trunk (at least I think that's what I am seeing). Review the guide linked below and see if you see any potential problems with the way your trees were planted (especially if you were there to watch).

Planting a Tree or Shrub

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