Please be aware…these trees got girdled from tree tag Strings …was not aware of it as the tags were hidden under tree protectors…My stupidity at the highest level… don’t make the same mistake…
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One of my tree was girdled by the tag string too. The tree grows faster than I had anticipated. It is a good time( no leafs on the tree) to check and make sure branches are not girdsed. On the positive side, the girdle seemed not very seriously affected the tree’s growth in my case.
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When I was first getting into planting trees removing the tree tags was one of the things mentioned. It seems contradictory as you may not know what it is later on but that is the reason they said to remove the tag.
Sometimes I have found the tag under soil level girdling the tree. That is some next level stuff… I always want to try and clear out the base of the tree trunk if something is wrong with the tree. I have found this a few times now, usually on a friends tree, where they mulched heavily and never checked for the root flare level and plant tags 
looking over your photo, it is funny how the tree was sending up shoot from under the girdle and you were pruning them back. Like how I can see the conversation between you and the tree. There was a miscommunication going on 
Is the (looks like metal twisty tie) still inside?
I think you should do some tree surgery and make a cut to break the metal/plastic so the tree can expand and heal. Cutting it back is an option but last resort.
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Yes, a portion of it is still inside …
Agreed that I need to do some kind of surgery, waiting for the rain to subside a bit. Here in northern California, we are getting drenched now.
I would stab a pocket knife into the bark to sever the tie on the back side. Looks like the front side that is sticking out has a chance to untwist and pull it out if the backside is cut.
In my head I would hope to cut the back side with a knife going into the living bark.
then get a pliers and pull the exposed parts hoping to remove it all cleanly.
Do it while the plant is pushing growth so it heals the wound… (Flowing sap = better healing)
If the thing doesnt pull out at least cut the back side and the tree will likely continue to grow just fine.
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Thank you. Will do it soon.
It looks like to me that it’s healed over the tag and the danger is past. Check a tree near a chain link fence and you may see a limb growing thru the fence. They can grow right around the fencing material.
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Should I not try to remove the string from inside?
Another tree looks like this
There is a visible difference between Lowe and upper trunk circumference.
If you think you can remove part or all of the string without causing too much damage have at it. If you have to really tear things apart that may cause more damage than leaving it.
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It is truly amazing what some trees can grow around. Fences, barbed wire, signs, bicycles, cars, boulders… If the growing layers are already around it, I would not worry too much, just remove what you can access freely and break any bits that are still visible without digging into it.
I’d worry more if it was copper.
Incidentally, why is it htat ags we forget about remain readable, but the ones we want to remain visible disappear no matter how indelible the writing is supposed to be? And why don’t the wind and crows work the ones like this loose instead of the ones we’re depending upon?
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I girdle trees this way regularly. I have hundreds of trees in my nursery that I graft 2nd varieties to, but also I use wire to hold aluminum labels on trees just to keep track of what varieties they are to start with. Sometimes the trees I buy in quantity have no side branches to attach a label so the worst thing is to overlook a label tied to the trunk. Peach and nect trees are the most incapable of bridging the wire and overcoming girdling.
I have too many pots on the stove to adequately avoid “stupid” mistakes… at 71, this is increasingly a problem. I’m not really slowing down, just becoming decreasingly competent and efficient as a result of a diminishing level of focus or concentration.
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I’m a couple of years older than you, and I can really relate. I still go gangbusters -for a much shorter time than before. Also I have to pay closer attention to avoid screwups and oversights, and I’ve always been prone to being hasty and impetuous anyway. I’m trying to train myself to be more deliberate, more thoughtful, less “figure it out as I go”. I don’t recover as quickly as I used to.
I retired at 67 and at the time I could feel my legs complain all the time. At the end of the week I’d just be wiped out. So I have to tell you, this retirement gig is the best job I’ve ever had!
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Yes, these trees I girdled had only one shoot to attach the aluminum level with…
After working the lot loading things into people’s cars all day at Home Depot and plumbing my legs already complain at age 26. The heavy physical work really takes its toll on people quickly.
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At 26? You should consider getting into shape. I’m 79 and the legs are still keeping me upright about 12 hours a day. Partly because I’m walking 3-4 miles in an hour each day. The rest of the day is pretty easy.
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You’re doing super. My wife and I do walk 4 miles a day (about an hour and a quarter) and I do whatever else needs to be done around the place, but I get a fair amount of butt time in front of the one-eyed monster. Don’t know if I could handle repeated 12 hour stretches day after day for long. What’s worse is I don’t really want to.
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I’m 71 and one of my knees gives me a little pain… torn meniscus originally, but I too am blessed with relative longevity, apparently and do a very vigorous up and down hill run every other day, even though I carry around a ladder and drag a lot of brush on the majority of my work days. However, not everyone can keep their joints in shape, no matter what they do. Only the body’s owner knows. Everybody has a different one and Ma nature isn’t fair.
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