Need Advice Please - Saving Walnut Tree Hit By Car

ChicagoSuburbs

I've read some of the other threads about saving a tree hit by a car but am wondering if someone could please give us some advice specific to our tree. Walnut tree hit by car 7/4 night. Here are pictures of the damage. I've read it's best not paint the tree. We are willing to call someone for an opinion but really have no idea how to find that someone.

The tree belongs on a relative's property. He's a senior on a fixed income so not a lot of money but we should be able to get the car insurance to pay for the damage.

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glennak

" 7/4 night." What does this mean?
I would tie the bark back onto the trunk with string and hope it's not to dry to re-attach. Wrapping black plastic around it will help as it keeps it moist and heats it up which makes things grow faster. Unfortunately this is also good for insects and slugs. I have added snail pellets to kill slugs on one job.
Trimming bark back to sound bark is of no benifit see if it attaches if not, you have lost nothing. And paint a waste of time.

ChicagoSuburbs

Sorry, it was hit the night of 7/4.

Are you saying to do the plastic because of the heat or not to do the plastic because of the bugs?

dov

If it was on the fourth of this month, then the bark will probably be well dried out. Try pressing and tying it back onto the trunk anyway I guess. Past that, there isn't much you can do. The damage to the bark and cambium layer is pretty severe. I'm not sure about plastic, as it is summer there at the moment. You could try it to keep the moisture in, but I'd go with something like Cling Film from the kitchen. No need to buy anything.

ChicagoSuburbs

Thanks. If we call an arborist in for an opinion, will someone be able to tell now if the tree is able to be saved or is it better to wait, and if so, how much time before we know if the tree is permanently damaged?

glennak

It may well be Ok by its self but tieing up is still a good idea. Sorry I was for getting you do dates backwards to the rest of the world.
I was saying to use the plastic black for extra heat but clear is fine, but as dov said it may be a bit dry but try anyway. Even the trunk that is not covered with bark may still grow new cambium ( there will still be live cells ) as long as it doesn't dry out too much. So go and fix it now or ASAP anyway.
With cork oaks they completely ring bark the bottom of the trunk and they grow new bark. Other trees can do this too time of year is important summer is not a good time.

ChicagoSuburbs

Thanks - will get it done today. It happened on July 4 after midnight (a reasonable guess would be someone who had been out partying for the day, it being Independence Day here).

Thanks again for the advice. The owner wanted to paint it and that just didn't seem logical to me but I know nothing about trees.

cte539

The International Society of Arboriculture's annual convention is in Chicago this month. Shouldn't be to hard to find a qualified arborist to consult.
Personally I'd do a 'bark tracing' to remove any loose bark off the trunk of the tree. If the tree is healthy it will compartmentalize that wound.
Paul

dov

I'd say bind up the wound and wait til spring. Any dieback will be pretty obvious then. No need for an arborist in this one unless you have deep pockets...

Brent Ferris

It looks like the bark on half the circumference of the trunk, and for a height of perhaps 2 ft from the ground up is loose. Since it happened 5 days ago, the likelihood of regrowth in this area is really tiny. No harm trying.
But since this is early summer in this part of the world(and likely high daytime temperatures), you will likely see dieback on this side of the crown within a few weeks. And depending how hard the car hit the trunk there may also be structural damage to the trunk.
If the tree survives, it will always be weak at the base on this side. I believe the tree will be much more susceptible to winter storms, and high winds, and if the money is available, it would be better spent removing/replacing the tree, and maybe add some good sized boulders on the road side of the tree -- minimize the effect of other errant drivers.
If you decide to keep the tree, water it well - translocation of water from one side to the other is not well done with trees, plus the one side needs to provide water for the whole tree. That will be a tough job for the tree.


THe tree looks to be a boulevard tree, and perhaps it is not a private tree but owned by the city?

glennak

Xylem that is the outside of the wood in the trunk is responsible for water and nutrient uptake this would not be damaged, so water uptake is not a problem. It has lost 1/2 its phloem (inside of the bark) this is to take sugars etc back to the roots. Any roots on this side will work till they run out of energy, it may take a year or more.
There was a street tree in Williamstown that was hit by a car and it lost bark all the way around. Some thoughful person carted it away. The trunk was covered in blisters of cambium within days, in a few weeks they were joining up and just before they could connect the top with the bottom some no nothing pretend arborist from the council traced the edges of the bark with a chisel and formed a narrow strip that the cambium could not regenerate on. Months latter suckers formed at the base, and the base of the upper wound was swelling. I checked a few times and though I would give it another week then attempt bridge grafts but the council man sniped them off and a year and a half latter the tree died. Left alone or proper help this tree would been the same as the rest of the avenue.

Brent Ferris

I appreciate the newest xylem is closest to the surface of the wood. But ChicagoSuburbs indicated the accident had happened 5 days before, and the daytime temp was in the upper 90's F. The wood would almost certainly bake in those conditions, esp if the tissues were damaged by stopping a car. And the speed must have been significant to create so much bark damage. The likelihood that cambial tissue will reform in a black walnut seems dismal -- in my modest opinion.

glennak

I had no idea that Chicago got that hot. Not perfect weather to tear bark off trees, but still may as well try.

dov

I always thought of it as a city of freezing winds as well. Still got to be worth a try.

Brent Ferris

It has freezing winds -- in the winter. Summer, you bake.

Therrin

Yes. After two years in Chicago, I decided it is one of the most dismal places to live. Well below freezing in winter, 90's hot and VERY HUMID in the summer. In any one day it can snow/rain/sleet/high winds/be totally hot, all within the stretch of 24 hours. Bleh.

Perhaps the humidity would help to keep it from drying out as much as it would in a dryer climate.

Eric Frei

All I hear is that Chicago is where all the gays live.

Errr, my answer is, wait and see.

In the meantime I would keep the tree well watered.

I would not put any clingwrap etc on it, I would keep the wound open but shaded with a cloth, like cheese cloth or hessian, draped from being lightly tied above, keep it moist if you can.

Spray the wound area with trichoderma to prevent other fungal pathogens infesting it.

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