SP683

Tree Wounds:
Response of Trees and
What You Can Do

Wayne K. Clatterbuck
Associate Professor
Forestry, Wildlife & Fisheries

Trees are commonly wounded and the causes are

many: broken branches; impacts, abrasions and scrapes;
animal damage; insect attack; fire; etc. Wounds usually
break the bark and damage the food- (phloem or inner bark)
and water- (xylem or wood) conducting tissues. Wounds also
expose the inside of the tree to organisms, primarily bacteria
and fungi that may infect and cause discoloration and decay
of the wood. Decay can result in structurally weakened
tree stems and unsightly trees and can shorten the life of a
tree. Decay in a tree cannot be cured. However, proper tree
care can limit the progress of decay in an injured tree. This
factsheet discusses tree responses to wounding and what can
be done after wounding to keep the tree healthy.

Tree Response to Wounding

Tree response to wounding or injury involves two
processes: compartmentalization and the development of
barrier zones (Shigo 1986).

Compartmentalization
When a tree is wounded, the injured tissue is not
repaired and does not heal. Trees do not heal; they seal.
As Shigo (1982) eloquently describes, trees are generating
organisms while animals are regenerating life forms.
Animals repair, replace, restore and regenerate tissue from
Photo Credit: Wayne Clatterbuck

existing cells. Trees “wall off” injured and infected tissues

and then continue generating new tissues.
If you look at an old wound, you will notice that
it does not “heal” from the inside out, but eventually the
tree covers the opening by forming specialized “callus”
tissue around the edges of the wound. After wounding,
new wood growing around the wound forms a protective
boundary preventing the infection or decay from spreading
into the new tissue. Thus, the tree responds to the injury by Callus tissue forming on the vertical axes of the tree wound
on white oak, but the ragged bark on the horizontal axes has
“compartmentalizing” or isolating the older, injured tissue
slowed the growth of callus tissue.
with the gradual growth of new, healthy tissue.
Barrier Zones
Not only do the trees try to close the damaged
tissue from the outside, they also make the existing
wood surrounding the wound unsuitable for spread of
decay organisms. Although these processes are not well-
understood, the tree tries to avoid further injury by setting
chemical and physical boundaries around the infected
cells, reacting to the pathogen and confining the damage.
If the tree is fast and effective with its boundary-setting
mechanisms, the infection remains localized and does not
spread. However, if the boundary-setting mechanisms are
not effective, the micro-organisms will successfully and
rapidly spread. These are the extremes of deterioration A
due to tree wounding, and all gradations in between of
boundary-setting and infection spread can occur. However,
most vigorous or actively growing trees are fairly successful
in coping with decay-spreading mechanisms.

Care for Tree Wounds callus tissue

Proper care of tree wounds encourages callus growth
and wound closure. cement

Physical Repair
bricks

Photo Credit: Wayne Clatterbuck

Tree wounds often appear ragged where the bark
is torn during the injury. This is common during branch
breakage and when the trunk of the tree has been scraped.
To repair this type of damage, cut off any ragged bark edges
with a sharp knife. Take care not to remove any healthy bark
and expose more live tissue than necessary. If possible, the B
wound should be shaped like an elongated oval, with the
long axis running vertically along the trunk or limb. All
bark around the wound should be tight. Cement and bricks meticulously used in a tree cavity in
boxelder (A). The inside of the same tree showing the tree
Wound Dressings response to the cement and bricks (B). Notice the callus tissue
above the cement and below the bricks.
Research indicates that wound dressings (materials
such as tar or paint) do not prevent decay and may even
interfere with wound closure. Wound dressings can have Cavity Filling
the following detrimental effects. Filling of large holes or hollows in the tree is generally
• Prevent drying and encourage fungal growth done for cosmetic reasons. There is little data to indicate
• Interfere with formation of wound wood or that a filled tree has better mechanical stability. However,
callus tissue fillings may give the callus tissue a place to seat, thus
• Inhibit compartmentalization stopping the in-roll (folding) of the callus (Shigo 1992).
• Possibly serve as a food source for pathogens Almost any filling can be used as long as it does not abrade
the inside of the tree.
Wound dressings do not stop decay or prevent entrance The filling of a tree cavity is generally expensive
of decay mechanisms. Covering wounds with sealants and not recommended. The filling does not stop decay and
inhibits oxidative processes, which in turn will reduce callus often during the cleaning of the cavity, the boundary that
formation and compartmentalization. For these reasons, separates the sound wood or the callus growth from the
applying wound dressings is not recommended. Trees, like decayed wood is ruptured. Thus, this cleaning for cavity
many organisms, have their own mechanisms to deter the filling can have more detrimental effects on the tree than
spread of decay organisms, insects and disease. if it were left alone. Care must be taken not to damage the
new callus tissue that has formed in response to the tree
damage and subsequent decay.
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Pruning Wounds Tree Health
Proper pruning should be used to remove dead, dying Healthy trees usually recover from wounding quickly.
and broken branches; to remove low, crossing or hazardous Try to keep wounded trees growing vigorously by watering
branches; and to control the size of the tree. However, them during droughts and providing proper fertilization.
pruning of any kind places some stress on the tree by This will increase the rate of wound closure, enhance callus
removing food-producing leaves (if the branch is alive), growth and improve the resistance to decay mechanisms.
creating wounds that require energy to seal and providing
possible entry points for disease. References
Pruning cuts should be made to maximize the tree’s Shigo, A.L. 1982. Tree health. Journal of Arboriculture
ability to close its wound and defend itself from infection. 8(12):311-316.
When pruning, make clean, smooth cuts. Do not leave
branch stubs. Leave a small collar of wood at the base of the Shigo, A.L. 1986. A New Tree Biology. Shigo Trees &
branch. The branch collar is a slightly swollen area where Associates, Durham, NH. 595 p.
the branch attaches to the trunk. Cutting the limb flush
with the trunk will leave a larger area to callus over and
a greater chance of decay organisms entering the wound.
The optimal pruning time is in the winter (dormant season)
when temperatures and infection rates are lower and when
trees are not actively growing. For more information on
pruning, refer to UT Extension publication PB1619, Pruning
Landscape Trees, Shrubs and Groundcovers.

Photo Credit: Wayne Clatterbuck

Callus tissue growth in response to a pruning wound on fringetree.

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 Photo Credit: Wayne Clatterbuck
Callus growth and correct pruning of a branch on pin oak without damaging the root collar

Photo Credit: Wayne Clatterbuck

Growth of callus tissue on a pruned branch of sugar maple

SP683-13.5M-10/06 R12-4910-065-009-07 07-0073

Programs in agriculture and natural resources, 4-H youth development, family and consumer sciences, and resource development.
University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture and county governments cooperating.
UT Extension provides equal opportunities in programs and employment.

Printing for this publication was funded by the USDA Forest Service through a grant with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture,
Division of Forestry. The Trees for Tennessee Landscapes series is sponsored by the Tennessee Urban Forestry Council.

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