How to fill hole in fruitless mulberry

[diegomapache]

Hello! I have a large fruitless mullberry tree in my backyard. Last February, a tree trimmer came and thinned out the tree, leaving it with many large branches. One of his cuts exposed a hole in the joint of the branch and the tree. It is about 10 inches across and is over six inches deep inside. See the pic attached (sorry, took it at night). I want to keep the large structure of the tree. I know I can pollard it down to almost nothing and it will shoot right back up, but I like the shade and the "structure" of a large tree. WEll, I tried to add a picture and i guess I have to publish it to web first. Need to work on that one. ANyway, the hole is in a certicle cut of a branch...so I can stand on the ground and see the hole directly in front of me.

Any suggestions to fill the hole? I am worried that water will settle in there and continue to rot. Alrady received rain tonight in California. I have heard cement is an option, but that sounds a little wierd. I have another branch which is rotting at the base a little too. Perhaps it is time to take a year and chop it all the way back, let four/five new branches take off and re-shape the tree from "scratch"?

Please help! THank you very much.

 

[masterarbor]

As arborists we are taught to just leave it be. The air circulation allows it to dry out between periods of moisture. The notion that it has to be filled with something is antiquated.

Good Luck
Kevin

 

[S Mc]

Diego, Without pictures it is impossible to give accurate advice on this issue. The pat answer on cavities is "no, do not fill". However, if this is a structural issue you may opt for a radical pruning, bracing of the limb, cabling situation, or something else. Cavities can be filled without harm to the tree (generally speaking). No, do not use cement.

So before I start throwing out recommendations that might have no relevance, let's help you post some pictures.

What I do for pictures, is after they are on my computer I will open them in Paint. Go to Image and select "Stretch and Skew". I opt for a 25% reduction both width and heigth. Save.

After I have entered my post, I will then go down to Managed Attachments, and select the picture. It will then be of a size to be readily posted, yet still big enough to see.

Hope that helps.

Try to take a picture of the cavity, showing it close up and in relation to the branch/limb/stem it is on or affecting, and the entire tree, including the base (we arborists get anal about how the tree was planted).

Thanks.

Sylvia

 

[diegomapache]

Posted image of mulberry

Thanks to the posters who are offering to help. Here's a pic of the hole in the mulberry. Sorry it is a night pic, but it should give you an idea.

 

[TreeWizard]

I had a customer with a mullberry that had a cavity larger than that. I was able to keep the moisture out of it by using a rag with one end in the cavity and the other end sticking out in the wind. It acts like a wick and as the wind blows over the rag it draws the moisture out.

 

[(WLL)]

sue the cutter for skewing up your tree.!!! that is the only way people are gonna stop hacking our trees and the arborist can forget about competing with lowball hacks. im half tempted to call the local hacks round here so i can get paid and the word goes out that if you f-up the trees u will pay for it

 

[Matilda]

As arborists we are taught to just leave it be. The air circulation allows it to dry out between periods of moisture. The notion that it has to be filled with something is antiquated.

Good Luck
Kevin

You can't do that because bees take over