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Is this Poplar Worth Saving? #875379

Asked June 30, 2024, 5:25 PM EDT

This young quaking aspen / poplar is leaning and damaged. I was considering staking it upright. Questions: 1. Given the damage to the trunk, is there any hope that it might prosper? 2. Is there anything I should use to fill or paint the wound? Thank you.

Oakland County Michigan

Expert Response

Hello Jeffery,

The answer to your second question is - no, you do not want to fill or painting the wound with anything. Those kinds of applications are an older practice and rarely, if ever, suggested now. They do more harm than good.

To answer your first question, there is some hope...

Wounds like this on thin-barked trees are common and can be caused by a few things -mechanical damage (deer rubbing, mowers, etc) or sun scald.  Quaking Aspen trees also are susceptible to certain diseases that form trunk cankers which can appear similar to this, but those often appear when they are older.

Because the tree is so young, it may slowly grow around this wound. You can see that the tree has been trying to form new wood around the wound...but it likely never form an excellent specimen. 

Not seeing the above ground portion of tree, I would suspect that it may not be thriving. If the leaves still appear healthy, then it could be worth keeping...depending on location. If it is in a location where it will not impact anything or anyone if it grows larger and eventually falls, than you could let it be and see if it grows. 

Also, Aspens tend to thicket (send up new stems/trees from their roots) once they get established...so if this is one of many aspens that you have, then I would NOT bother trying to keep it. If it is the only one, it may sucker with time and you could keep that new tree and remove this one. 

If you decide to keep it, you could remove the grass and other plants from around the base, and lightly mulch the area, making sure to keep the mulch from piling up onto the root flare (place where the trunk meets the roots). This can help reduce further damage from mowers or weed-wackers.


An Ask Extension Expert Replied July 01, 2024, 4:04 PM EDT

Wow.  Great email!

 


Thanks so much for your detailed reply.  I will stake it so it no longer leans.

 


Hopefully it will thrive!

 


Jeff

 


 



 


 


 


From: ask=<personal data hidden> [mailto:ask=<personal data hidden>] On Behalf Of Ask Extension
Sent: Monday, July 1, 2024 4:05 PM
To: Jeffrey Bauman <<personal data hidden>>
Subject: Re: Is this Poplar Worth Saving? (#0145297)

 


The Question Asker Replied July 01, 2024, 4:40 PM EDT

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