I need to know what to do or if I can save my tree

Question

We moved to a great place and noticed only a couple things. The ivy was killing a large mulberry tree and tires put around a few walnut trees are now grown into tree, and tree is dying. I have removed the ivy; however, I was not able to salvage some bark from ivy. I lost a bit. What can I do to protect those bare spots for awhile?

Answer 1

If the bark loss was on the Mulberry don’t worry about it unless the spots are really large, those trees are tough as nails. If the spots are large (hand sized or bigger) you could cover them with prunning paint, or some tree wrap. I use Clarks brand, looks like brown crepe paper. Neither of these two things will really do anything directly for the tree though, they’re just to prevent secondary infection from insects or disease, kinda like a band-aid.
If this tree is close to your house at all (15 ft or less) I’d take it out. Mulberries have a very invasive root system and have been known to crack foundations and destroy sewer and septic systems. If you’ve got wide open spaces and want a dense, tough, fast growing shade tree, you won’t do better then a mulberry.

Side note, you didn’t mention if the Mulberry was fruited or fruitless. If it does produce fruit, plan for THOUSANDS of berries. They make a fine cobbler and sorbet, but also a huge mess in the yard.

Tires grown into the walnuts sounds to me like a done deal, maybe cut the part of the tire off thats not already inside the tree. Don’t try to remove the part inside the tree, you’ll do more harm then good. If half a tire is sticking out perpendicular from the tree truck, cover the bottom hole and make it a planter for some flowers. Nothing else to be done really. It is what it is, and it’s cool.

Jason
10+ years landscaping