On Wed, 12 Mar 2003 14:53:48 GMT, animaux
wrote:

Just leave it. Many of the products they sell for wound care only serves to
hasten disease. Trees have natural hormones which will heal the wound.
Not to nitpick, but trees do not "heal" like animals. They have no
immune system or similar response. A tree responds to wounding by a
system known as CODIT (compartmentalization of decay in trees).
Internally, vascular tissue that has been broken will be plugged
physically while chemical barriers resist spread of decay inward. The
strongest defense is the layer of tissue that forms over the outside
of the wound. This layer forms quite readily when a branch has been
removed properly (leaving the branch collar, which forms the new
tissue) but not so well in a case like this one where bark has come
off the trunk. I do agree with Victoria that there isn't much that
can be done by treating the wound, and addressing the soil's health
will do more for the tree than anything.

More on wound dressings: http://www.chesco.com/~treeman/dress.html

More on wound response:
http://www.chesco.com/~treeman/SHIGO/AUTO.html

Keith
For more info about the International Society of Arboriculture, please visit http://www2.champaign.isa-arbor.com/.
For consumer info about tree care, visit http://www2.champaign.isa-arbor.com/.../consumer.html