On 6/21/10 3:58 PM, Mysterious Traveler wrote:
Something got into a dwarf plum tree and stripped bark from
most of one side. It even got into the tree a few feet above
the ground. There are teeth marks everywhere. The tree is
about four feet tall and we don't have many deer around here.
I'm guessing a rabbit. There was one that was near the tree
when I was out there.

What would be good to put on the stripped areas to keep the
branches from dieing? Somewhere I heard that when pruning
a tree it isn't necessary to put pruning paint on but with
this much damage I think something needs to be applied.

I'm hunting Wabbit...
Mysterious Traveler



Paint the wound with white glue to seal it. Use any general purpose
white glue: Willhold, Elmer's, Glue Bird, or a "house" brand.

Then buy 1/4-inch wire mesh, about 3 feet wide and long enough to wrap
loosely around the trunk more than twice. Wrap the mesh around the
trunk, not real tight but not real loose. Fasten the free end to the
rest of the mesh with bent paperclips. If you detect that some animal
has lifted the mesh, unwrap, staple the inner end to the trunk, and then
rewrap. Check the mesh 3-4 times during the growing season to make sure
that the trunk has not grown to make the mesh too tight.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary