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River Birch tree damage

2 years ago

Last night I caught some neighbor kids climbing and peeling my River birch trees bark while playing with my son in the yard. I am so upset. This is the only full grown tree in my yard that provides both privacy and shade. My question here is does the tree look too damaged? Is there anything I should do to protect the trunks from further damage? Am I over reacting and it is fine? lol Sorry, I know nothing about trees.

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Comments (4)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
2 years ago
It's not damaged at all :-) Since the bark on river birch (and most other species) peels and flakes off naturally, a little assist from the kids is not going to hurt it at all. I'd be more concerned about them climbing on it and what impact their weight may have.......
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
2 years ago
in the first pic ... is that a pruning stub about 6 inches long.. that needs to be properly pruned off so the tree can heal that part ...

ditto to what she said... they may have ruined the current aesthetic ... but they didnt hurt the tree itself .... it will take a few years to get the groovy bark again ... so what ...

the downside is .... the offending kids will be in college or juvie.. before it looks good again ... tree time is counted in decades.. so not this or next year ...

id probably talk to the parents .. once you cool down.. and ask them to discuss such with their kids ... e.g. destroying other peeps stuff while visiting ....

ken
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yyou have a tree that is going to be significantly retarded in food production.. ergo vigor is going to be limited to the 1/4 inch strip .... it might take a decade to return to vigor .... you MIGHT be better off... cutting the whole thing off ... just below the danmage ... and letting it resprout some vigorous new shoots.. and then pick the best one or two and let them grow like rockets.. since there is no damage to the root zone ... wouldnt be surprised if you dont get one to go 6 to 8 feet by fall ... as compared to the one struggling for the next 5 years.. barely alive.. mending the trunk .... give it a go .. something new to watch and learn about ... its an experiment either way .... which do you prefer to learn about .... i will bet a buck [no pun intended] that you will have more trunk damage to watch heal ... so i vote for truncating [god.. another pun] the damaged trunk .. and watching it grow like a weed .... ken
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I applied a recommended iron mixture =====>>> who recommended it.. they guy who sold it to you ... and who recommended all the nitro.. the guy who sold it to you??? what did your soil test indicate???? i have planted hundreds of trees on my lot.. and NEVER had to fertilize a single one.. someone is selling you a bunch of hooey ... now tell me about that soil test .... ONLY if it was recommended by such ... would iron be requisite.. and tell us about what they are selling you for lawn care... any weed or crabgrass killers??? and how old is this tree... when was it planted... and a pic would sure help.. for us to see what is going on around it.. is it in full sunshine ken
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LC
Original Author
2 years ago
This makes me feel so much better. I’m definitely going to have a discussion with the parents! Thank you all for your comments ♥️
LC
Original Author
2 years ago
Hi there, Stax. Thanks so much for assuming I didn’t have a conversation with my own child. What a dumb comment to make. Last time I checked this wasn’t a parenting app? The point of the post was this: I know nothing about trees, especially River birch trees, some kids thought it would be fun to peel lots of bark off...does it look okay, in your experience, or should I maybe take action (I.e, wrap the tree, have someone come out and look at it). The only thing I know about tree bark it functions like somewhat like “skin” and is what provides nutrients to the tree and that a tree can be girdled or die from de barking. Simple as that. As far as I’m concerned how I handle the situation is my business only. I only explained what happened so that anyone who reads this post had context as to how the damage occurred. As for parenting, at the of the day all children should be taught by their guardians to respect other people’s property 🤷🏼‍♀️

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