Is There Any Way To Save A Thinly Girdled Pussy Willow?

Question

I am absolutely heartbroken. A massive and very old pussy willow in my front yard has been vandalized by way of a 1-2″ deep cut around the entire perimeter. It is a single cut, only about 1/4″ wide, and not the 2-8″ debarked girdling I see online, but I still fear the worst. I’m especially worried that I don’t know when this happened, it may have been as long as a week before I discovered the wound. I’ve attached a photo of part of the cut. I packed it with moss as per a suggestion I found online, but as that remedy was for a swath of bark removed by a rabbit, I don’t know if it will do any good in this case. Is there any hope for the tree’s survival?

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Answer 1

That doesn't look bad enough to harm the tree. Fortunately, it doesn't look like any action is needed to remedy the situation, but keeping it from happening again may be necessary.