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Burnt Oak tree

WatsoniaWatsonia Posts: 134
in Problem solving
I had some great advice so far, so here is one of my trickier questions. The previous owner had the very smart idea to have a fire pit right underneath the oak tree at the end of the garden. He managed to burn the tree, its black and a lot of the bark is gone. I had a tree surgeon check it out and the tree is ok, it’s a bit slower coming into leaf than his siblings (by about three weeks) but by summer you wouldn’t notice the difference. The oak tree is 91 years old ( it was planted the same year as the house was build  :) ). 
Now the question. My heart bleeds very time I see the burnt wood and as I have a seating area right next to it, that is often. 

What could I plant that will grow up the trunk, or in front of it, and cover the burnt area (without impacting the tree)? As it is right underneath the soil is quite dry, and it’s clay. And it will be in shade for a lot of the day. There is a wood store right next to it, so not loads of space. I had been hoping for a rose, but I don’t think the conditions are right. 
It looks even worse in real life than in the picture. That poor tree. 


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  • steephillsteephill Posts: 2,841
    You could try nailing some galvanised steel sheets to cover it like this:-


    Not a good look!
  • WatsoniaWatsonia Posts: 134
    @steephill oh my gosh. It makes you wonder what is hiding underneath. Not quite what I was hoping for  ;)
  • pitter-patterpitter-patter Posts: 2,429
    I’m not sure you can do much with it. I’m trying to think what I would do...

    You could try screening it with a trellis that extends from the wood store and plant a short climber in a pot. You can try building a tall bug hotel in front of the tree.

    Or you can just change your perspective and see the wound as a sign of resilience, victory and hope. 
  • StephenSouthwestStephenSouthwest Posts: 635
    You could plant a climber a little distance away and train it on a pole up to the trunk perhaps?
  • WatsoniaWatsonia Posts: 134
    @pitter-patter I would love the perspective change. It is definitely a triumph over adversary. I’m just finding it quite difficult. I need to toughen up a bit when it comes out gardening, even weeding feels like taking something living away. There is a bug hotel hiding behind the tree, tugged out of the way.

    @stephentame I was thinking maybe a climber, it could also provide some nice habitat for bugs and other insects. Not sure what might work 🤔
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    There was a hollow oak tree in the big wood across the fields when I was growing up on the farm. It had a big gash down the trunk just like your tree ... the inside was hollow but the outside of the tree was alive and it had many healthy branches and boughs covered with leaves and acorns every year. 

    Sometimes I would pack myself a marmite sandwich and a bottle of water and take myself off across the fields to spend an hour or so sitting in the bole of that hollow oak tree ... it was like being in a cave ... and as I sat there, still, watching and listening, sometimes a Robin or a wren would appear, sometimes a woodmouse ... and once a young stoat stared at me for ages ... I might have been the first human he’d ever seen, and he was certainly my first stoat. 

    A hollow oak is a magical place 😊 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • WatsoniaWatsonia Posts: 134
    @Dovefromabove that’s sounds idyllic, what lovely memories. 

    There are a couple of blue tits starting to nest in a little hollow above the burnt area. I sometimes sit next to the tree and just watch them for while, coming and going.
  • Blue OnionBlue Onion Posts: 2,995
    Paint it a nice matte grey brown to match the surrounding bark.  It will flake off over the year, so may need a bit of touching up now and again.  Then encourage the ivy I can see growing at the base to form up and over that area.  
    Utah, USA.
  • rachelQrtJHBjbrachelQrtJHBjb Posts: 819
    Watsonia said:
    @Dovefromabove that’s sounds idyllic, what lovely memories. 

    There are a couple of blue tits starting to nest in a little hollow above the burnt area. I sometimes sit next to the tree and just watch them for while, coming and going.
    If that's the case I would wait until their nesting season is over (may be as late as July if they have a second brood) and then choose your climber. I would rather look at the burnt patch for another couple of months than disturb the blue tits.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I agree ... leave the tree for the birds (it would be illegal to disturb them anyway 😊)
    Eventually  the wind and rain will weather the burnt surface and you’ll find that  beneath the tree has calloused over ... just another of a veteran tree’s honourable battle scars. 

    Our Australian gardening friend @Pat E can probably tell you many stories of how trees survive the charring from the flames. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





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