"David E. Ross" wrote in message
.. .
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


Thanks, David, for the above info. Very informitive and
I'll keep
it for future reference.