Is this rope strangling our tree?

19 years ago

My boyfriend has this tree in his front yard. Apparently the previous owners kept a dog tied to the tree and didn't remove the rope. The tree has started to grow around the rope and he's worried the rope will strangle the young tree. Me knowing nothing about trees really, I didn't know what to tell him. Should we leave the rope where it is or try to remove it? and if we remove it, should we seal it with that wax like stuff they use for grafting?

http://home.petflytrap.com/users/bonnie/tree2.jpg

http://home.petflytrap.com/users/bonnie/Tree.jpg

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Comments (5)

Rosa
19 years ago
You can cut the rope even it you can't remove it, or remove all of it. Don't worry about small cuts in the bark when cutting the rope. You don't want to hack away at it tho and damage the tissue just under the bark. A box cutter type knife would work. Just make sure the rope is cut all the way thru.
You don't need to bother with sealing it at all. It will heal on it's own.
shapiro
19 years ago
WildFyre: I agree with Rosa above. Most people are not aware that the most important part of the trunk of a tree is right under the bark. That's where the nutrition and the moisture travel up to the branches and leaves. That's why when one of those string whipper-snippers cuts the bark all around, the tree usually dies: the connection is broken. So yes, remove the rope but try as much as you can to leave the bark unbroken. Chances are, the bark might grow right over the rope bits.
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sharbieh_aol_com
15 years ago
Another similar question....I have a tree that was being "strangled" by a wire encased in a rubber tube. The tree grew over the wire. We tried to remove the wire, but could not. When trying to remove the wire we had to make a 1/2" deep hole the size of a dime into the side of the tree and cut the wire to loosen it. After reading this forum, I am worried that we might have hurt the tree. Should we seal the hole somehow?
stevesyv
13 years ago
I tied a rope around a tree with three trunks (about a foot from the ground). The rope was to hold up a fence. The fence was replaced and the rope removed. However, the trunks had grown around the rope and a 1/2-3/4 inch indentation remains around the trunks. Some of the folage from the tree has turned brown and the tree appears thinner and less dense.

What can I do to save the tree?

Thanks.
ianna
13 years ago
The only thing you can do was to remove the rope which you have done. However the damage is done. The affected areas channel water (think veins) and nutrients to the crown of the tree and so by cutting it off - essentially killing of those cells, the channels are permanently affected. Hopefully the tree can regenerate new channels from within the trunk.

Try to keep it healthy with good watering and nutrients. That is all you can do for now.