Yikes! Guessing sunburn... I put toilet paper rolls around the base of mine to help prevent that, it works like a charm. Huge sorry to your friend....

It looks like severe sunburn to me. Is there anything reflective or something that could be magnifying the sun shining on that spot?

Thanks folks, I totally agree with both of you. elucas, I'll ask her about magnifying/reflection. Thanks for the suggestion.

What do you guys think she should do with the plant now???

Is this plant fully rooted? and how big is it?

I agree with the others that it looks like severe sunburn. Most plants do fine with sunbrun, but in this case it appears severe enough to have damaged the inner cambium layer. If the tree is not rooted then I would re-cut above the damage and start over. If it's a large tree I would take a seperate cutting just incase the tree doesn't survive.

~Jen

Hi Dewaine, I had a cutting that got burnt that bad that is now starting to root. Beyond covering it, there isn't anything that can be done, and it shouldn't affect the tree. For me there was a magnificaiton issue, I had it in a plastic bottle and sun was being amplified through the bottle and roasting the stem, in nearly the same spot.

From what Jen & Laura and the others told me, cover it with a TP roll, and if it is only one sided it should be ok. I've had success, I think I even misted mine a bit to get some moisture back into it. Basically, it is only a cosmetic tragedy at this point.

Good luck to your friend!

Wendy

Hey Dewaine,

This happened to some of my cuttings last year when they were in the plastic containers. They did burn at the base of the stem, but continued to root so i left as is. All last year they did great and continued to grow even tho there was that look at the base of the stem . I placed more mix up into the container to cover and the tree actually split where the sunburn was and started to grow more roots. It naturally rerooted itself. The Guillots Sunset is one that i can think of right now that had the same damage. It stil looks wonderful...

I will post a pic of the tree that had some damage.

Good Luck to your friend!!

Take care,

Laura

Same tree.. Guillots Sunset. This was last year and its still looking great!!!

Thanks folks for all the very good responses. I traded my friend a Wildfire that I had cut from the same tree at the same time. I had recently repotted it into a larger pot and it's doing great. My friends plant was severely dehydrated (which I believe was mostly responsible for the severe sunburn).

I took my friends plant out of the pot and saw that it was very well rooted. The sunburn totally circled the stem, so I opted to remove the sunburned portion. I now have a potted, rooted, Wildfire that will throw new branches very near the soil line. I also have a Wildfire soaking in a mixture of water, rooting hormone, and a few drops of SNG. After it rehydrates, I'll root it and then I'll have two more Wildfires. :)
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Sorry, I had 2 more pictures to share but I couldn't get the picture size smaller than monstrous. I'll try once more.
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Oh well at least one is the right size.

Hi Dewaine,
Thanks so much for your generosity and help! I was curious when you mentioned that you are soaking the cut end right after you cut it and you will repot it after it hydrates. Was there any white latex when you cut it? If so, did you just let it dry up a little before soaking? Does it make a difference because it was dehydrated? How long will you let it soak? Do you wait till the wrinkles go away... or it feels heavier? Once it is hydrated are you going to wait for it to callous? Or pot it right away? Sorry for so many questions. I have another cutting that I want to try to save that is in the same condition.

Thanks again,
Mae

Hello Mae, you're very welcome. It was no problem at all, and I really enjoyed your visit.

The plant was not flowing latex on either cut. It was very well rooted, but the roots were extremely dry as you know.

I watered the rooted portion, then put the cutting in a solution of water, rooting hormone, and a couple drops of spray and grow. I'll leave the cutting in the solution until it plumps up and/or throws roots. When and if it begins to throw roots, I'll pot it up right away. Then again, I just might decide to graft it onto a seedling.

On a cutting so severely dehydrated, my practice is to soak it asap after cutting.

Hope this answers your questions. If not let me know.

I can't remember if I told you that your new Wildfire had been up-potted recently. Should be fine in that pot for a couple years anyway.

Dewaine

Thank you Dewaine! You are the best!!!!