Girdled Apple trees

[garlicfarmer]

I am new this forum. I was looking up info on girdled apple trees and here I am. I live in northern Maine. I planted six new apple trees two years ago. Yesterday when I went to check on them I discovered that mice have badly stripped the bark off at least a foot section on all the trees. Does anyone know if these trees have any hope at all of survival? Thanks.

[The Helpful Gardener]

Howdy Garlicfarmer,

Where abouts in ME? My friend Paul Tukey is a pretty well known quantity up your way...

Bad news on the trees I think; if they have really girdled the circumfrnce then it is likely a done deal. The innermost layer of transport cells, the xylem is what is necessary first thing in spring to move water and nutrient from roots to leaves, and if that is intact then there is a chance, but even if it is, and we cannot get the phloem (outermost layer of transport cells) to return nutrient to the roots because it's too far gone, then it is a slow demise...

I moved this to the fruit forum to get like minded individuals to ponder the problem; the group is usually a better mind than any one of us...

Welcome...

HG

[MaineDesigner]

If they are completely girdled theoretically you can can make bridge grafts across the break in the cambium but in practice the failure rate is very high. Without actually seeing the trees I'm guessing but I think you might be better off to chalk it up as an expensive and unpleasant learning experience and move on. If you have voles (I definitely do here) you probably want to wrap the trunks in a hardware cloth cylinder every winter. I make some cuts to make a sort of L-shape at the base and bury that an inch or two into the soil. So far they haven't tunneled under it.

Bridge grafts are shown on page 143 of the first edition of Michael Phillips' The Apple Grower: A Guide for the Organic Orchardist. You could also try to contact some of Maine's apple gurus like John Bunker from Fedco or Mark Fulford from Teltane Farm in Monroe or any of the commercial orchardists up your way [url]https://www.maineapples.org/orchards.html[/url]

[The Helpful Gardener]

Thanks for those tips MD. Much appreciated. My experience with grafting is very limited, so that book sounds like a must have...

HG