My plum tree is oozing a clear liquid, sap?, from some cuts and joints. The liquid is now dry, hard and non-sticky. The tree was planted in March 2018 from bare-root stock. The tree appears to be in good health and vigor, so I was surprised when I saw this. I’m in San Diego, CA, and we are coming off a hot summer. Thanks in advance.
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It’s not a canker. The bark looks great.
I’d say the best advice I can pass along is to prune any/all hardwood when dormant. Newer green growth pruning is different and can be done w/o the same reaction from the tree.
That’s appears to be a tree’s normal response to injury. It’s its’ own protective bandage to the wounds. At least that’s what I see happening.
Dax
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I agree with Dax. Pruning when dormant is the way to go and even then, I will seal the wounds on my tree with a yellow paint on liquid that is a sealer. My trees thank me by not oozing.
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I don’t think the tree is reacting to pruning cuts, since it’s coming
from the joints. Your tree is stressed for some other reason. IMHO,
it’s either heat or water stress.
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Ray,
Your observation seems to match what happened the closest: oozing sap brought on by stress from under watering and hot weather. The plum tree was primarily watered with greywater, but we switched to the micro-sprinkler irrigation a month ago. My assistant gardener, Pooki, chewed one line and pulled off the other (pictured), and yes… I’m blaming the dog. So this tree did not get full watering during the end of our hot summer and probably when the oozing happened. The last pruning I’d done on this tree was mid-June, about 3.5 months ago.
Thanks to Dax and Mrs Gibson for your thoughts and approaches. This is a great site to learn from!
Robert
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Cute pup.
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Nice call, Ray.
Dax
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I’m also seeing narrow crotches which cause physical injuries as branch tissue pushes against the trunk. Branch spreading subdues branch growth which often helps. Probably just changing the angle reduces pressure against the trunk in itself. However, a little sap doesn’t really indicate a great threat to the tree as long as the bark is generally sound.
Paint or other sealants are no longer thought to be helpful in closing wounds. Trees heal differently than animals and anything that holds moisture to the wounded area is likely to do more harm than good. This is partially because their primary enemy is fungus and not bacteria. Search “Alex Shigo- wound dressings” if you are interested in more info on this.
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