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Is this apple canker?

ru.stringsru.strings Posts: 6
in Fruit & veg
Hi - I was hoping to get some advice on whether an apple tree I recently bought and planted has apple canker. Just after I bought it I noticed a I patch on the trunk where I thought the bark had probably been rubbed away in contact with the rack it was standing in. I've been keeping an eye on it, and it's developed fibrous edges and I don't like the look of the wood at its centre, though perhaps this is what the wound should look like if it's healing? I'm new to apple trees, so if anyone can reassure me I don't have anything to worry about, that'd be great! It's only a couple of months since I bought this, so I imagine I'd have a right to swap it for a healthy tree if it does have canker?

It's planted in Dunoon, on the west coast of Scotland.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Posts

  • ru.stringsru.strings Posts: 6
    Aaargh - thought so! :-/ Thank you.
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    Yes, if it was damaged before you planted it, you should try and get a replacement.  If they send you another and don't want the old one back (which is usually the case), you can try slicing that section off the side with a sharp knife (make sure you slice deep enough to remove all discoloured wood, starting in healthy bark above the wound and finishing in healthy bark below it.)  If you removed all of the canker, it will slowly heal over.  If that doesn't work, cut the main trunk off below the damage and either train the highest branch to become the leader, or wait for more shoots to develop, although you'll end up with an interestingly shaped tree (no bad thing in my cottage-style garden, but maybe not so much in a more formal setting.)
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • ru.stringsru.strings Posts: 6
    Thanks both - yes, the damage was there before I planted it, and it's only been planted less than a month. Am I right in thinking the infection's likely to have developed before I bought it?
  • ru.stringsru.strings Posts: 6
    Out of interest, is there any risk of (rubber) tree ties causing this kind of wound/infection?
  • ru.stringsru.strings Posts: 6
    And if I do try and excise the infection, apart from trying to do it in a sunny spell (rare here) is there anything I can do to avoid re-infection?
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    Not a lot, but it would be worth rubbing the knife with an alcohol based anti-bacterial liquid (like the stuff for your hands in hospitals) between cuts, so you don't spread any canker you happen to cut into.  Current RHS advice is to not use wound-paint afterwards but let nature take its course.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • ru.stringsru.strings Posts: 6
    Hmm - I sent the pic to the nursery I bought it from, and they said it's definitely not canker: just where the tree (which was potted) rubbed on the storage rack. They said canker only affects old trees. I'd thought its appearance could just be down to the bark trying to grow over the wound. They're offering me branded pruning paint. Are they definitely wrong?
  • bealofullbealofull Posts: 1
    I know this is 2.5 years ago now, but how did it end? 

    A fungus is a fungus, so yes it can effect young trees too (and I think your tree could very well have it) although it is more common in older trees. Also, the use of pruning paints is a bit outdated, tree surgeons/gardeners don't really use these anymore, as it is better to have the tree do it's own natural healing thing. There is a theory as well to not make clean cuts, but rather imitate the natural breaking of branches. Paint can keep stuff out, but it can also lock things in. 


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