Fixing damaged trees...

One year in winter when the snow was deep the field mice chewed trees worth $1,000 or more.

As long as there is an inch or so of unmolested bark, you can save the tree. With a strong sharp knife, carefully apply pressure to the knife to shape the wound so it’s pointed at the top and bottom. Carefully peel the flexible bark away from the wood. Don’t push the knife into the wood, just the bark. Feed the tree. Then ignore it.

This “callous tissue” forms like rings on a tree and wraps around the bare wood. The nicest shapes heal the fastest. Happiest trees heal fastest. Well fed trees heal the fastest. This wound is three years old. Two or three more years and I’ll be able to sell this “Emperor 1 Japanese maple” again for about $1,000.