How to save an apple tree if hares have chewed the bark in winter

When exploring an orchard after winter, you'll often notice damaged tree bark. Hares and mice, searching for food, are tempted by the tender bark of young saplings, especially apple trees. By peeling off strips of bark, these forest visitors reach the succulent bast, causing significant damage to the trees. Damage to the vascular cells stops sap flow, leading to the death of the plant. This article will explain how to save a tree from death and protect your orchard from harmful rodents.

Tree treatment

Hare damage typically occurs at snow level. Young saplings can lose their tops completely, while older trees typically suffer damage to lower branches or the trunk bark. Treatment depends on the severity of the damage. Superficial bark damage is considered the mildest. In this case, the cambium—the layer between the bark and the main wood—remains intact, so healing is relatively straightforward. However, if the bark is gnawed away completely around the trunk and to a significant depth, there is a high risk of tree death. In such cases, rapid, drastic measures are necessary.

Note: The cambium is responsible for bark growth and proper sap flow. Damage to the thin cambium layer leads to the death of the tree.

Treatment of superficial single lesions

Minor damage to the bark is recommended to be treated immediately after detection with a mixture of clay and cow manure or garden pitchYou can also use a ready-made antibacterial product. After treatment, wrap the trunk in plastic or cling film to speed up the healing process and protect the tree from infection. It is recommended to apply roofing felt over the film to protect the healing bark from direct sunlight. As summer approaches, the wound heals, and the dead tissue falls off.

If the inner layer, the cambium, has dried out as a result of damage, healing will require more effort and time. The wound requires constant care until the edges of the damaged area are completely closed and a dense scar forms on the bark. The surface of the growing layer is periodically scratched to stimulate new tissue growth and coated with garden pitch. This process can continue for 2-3 years.

In severe cases of apple tree bark damage caused by hares, products known as "artificial bark" are used. Artificial bark is a special mixture that accelerates regeneration processes during wound healing. The biologically active substances contained in the product stimulate the tree's own regenerative powers. The resulting elastic film adheres firmly to the wood and holds tightly, just like real bark. Furthermore, this sealant protects the treated areas from water penetration and drying out.

Garters

Small fresh wounds with intact cambium can be healed using dressings with various medicinal agents:

• ointments "Heteroauxin";
• linden decoction (200 g of dried flowers per glass of water, boil, cool and strain);
• clay mash prepared from clay and manure in a ratio of 6:4;
• ready-made product "Rannet";
• 3% solution copper sulfate.

An ointment (linden blossom infusion, copper sulfate solution) is applied to the injured area, then covered with garden pitch, followed by a bandage made of cloth and plastic. A clay slurry is applied to the wound in a thick layer, dried, wrapped in cloth, and covered with clay again. Unlike the previous substances, ready-made bactericidal preparations, in addition to healing the wound, form a protective film on its surface. Therefore, wrapping the trunk with plastic or cloth is not necessary. The tree is left in this state until winter, and sometimes until the following spring, until a new cambium layer and bark form.

Radical treatment measures

Radical measures for treating trees include:

• grafting of new bark;
• wound grafting with a "bridge";
• cut trunk to grow back.

Let us consider in more detail the features of each of the listed methods.

Trunk cut for reverse growth

The most radical method of all the above. It's used in cases of extensive bark damage caused by hares, when there's no other chance of saving the tree. It involves completely cutting the plant down to its lowest point before the sap begins to flow. To prevent the tree from growing again this year, the location cut Cover with garden pitch. Provided the root system is well-developed and healthy, the apple tree will produce new shoots and resume growth next year. The strongest shoot is selected from the resulting shoots, which will become the new apple tree. The remaining shoots are destroyed.

Prevention and protection of trees

Treating trees damaged by rodents is a rather laborious process that doesn't always guarantee a positive outcome. Moreover, once damaged, a tree permanently loses some of its fertility, so a high yield can't be expected. Therefore, it's recommended to keep rodent prevention in mind year-round. To protect your orchard during the winter, experts recommend a number of preventative measures.

1. Whitewashing tree trunks with lime not only in spring, but also before winter to a height of about 1 meter.
2. Autumn processing of tree bark and tree trunks cleared of fallen leaves, Bordeaux mixture or a solution of copper sulfate (at the rate of 100 g of substance per 10 liters of water).
3. Wrapping with polyethylene or roofing felt for the winter.
4. Protect young trees by placing cut plastic bottles on the trunk.
5. Treating the trunks and lower branches with a mixture of naphthalene and fish oil (1:8), which also helps repel unwanted guests.
6. Mulching the tree trunk circle with sawdust moistened with a solution of sanlisol, which will certainly drive away mice and hares.
7. Using fine-mesh chain-link fencing and spruce and pine branches for mechanical protection. The trunks of young apple trees are wrapped in these materials to prevent animals from physically approaching them.
8. Insulation of apple trees with non-woven materials.
9. Trampling down snow around trees in winter prevents rodents from making passages and getting close to the trunk.
10. Timely implementation of agricultural measures: digging, weed control, removal of fallen leaves and debris.

Video

Watch this video for practical advice on treating fruit trees damaged by rodents.

Conclusions

Young orchards often suffer damage from rodents. These wounds disrupt the integrity of the inner conducting layer of the bark, the cambium, which is essential for sap flow and the tree's life. If left untreated, these wounds can lead to the death of the plant. Therefore, it is recommended to immediately begin treatment using the methods described in this article, as well as implement preventative measures to protect the orchard.