Question
A few years back I staked our dogwood to straighten it upright. Yesterday i noticed the rubber hose in the vee of the tree had started to grow into the tree. It took a good tug but we finally removed it along with an couple if inches of the bark. Will this damage the tree at all and is there anything i should do to protect it? Thank-you

Answer
The wound will heal over itself. Remove any loose bark form the wound and do not put any wound dressing or paint on the wound and the tree will heal faster. As you found out staked trees need to be checked as they grow to keep this from happening but it will heal over.