any advice on bridging ring barked trees?

[gibbon]

I have a job where we need to.try to repair some recently ring barked trees. Anyone.have any.advice or done this before?

[David Humphries]

what distance does it need to bridge, Mat?

 

 

 

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[gibbon]

15 to 30cm. I'm thinking of waiting until they come into leaf so I know the cambium is dividing. Will the cambium lift off with a strip of bark, or should I try to chissel off a thin slice of the stem tissue too so I know I have cambium tissue?

[David Humphries]

I've had a little play with it a few years back, but wasn't really precise enough & the scions I used were not intact as the binding didn't really keep them in place.

 

 

 

Have a gander at the link.

 

Repair Grafting

 

 

 

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[Gollum]

What species are they?

Bridge graft now, best results come from using young whips grafted in, use a grafting knife. Cut a long strip revealing the cambium, leave the top on the whip, only attach the side of the whip.

[gibbon]

They are apple's. I like the idea of grafting in whips. Thankyou

[agg221]

The only thing I'd add to David and Gollum's comments are the importance of cleanliness and good sealing.

 

Clean everything off with a bit of soap and water before you start (stock and scion) and keep the knife clean too (and very sharp - you want to cut the tissue without bruising it).

 

Sealing over the cuts is important to stop them drying out, and the easiest way usually is to use strips of polythene. It might be a bit tricky with this shape, but probably weaving the strip over/under as you go round will do it. You don't need to buy tape - cut strips off a heavy duty plastic bag, around an inch to an inch and a half wide and lock them by winding over the top of the previous turn, then tuck under the last one.

 

I take it you have rabbit problems?

 

Alec