Question
Hi,
I live in southeast Michigan, near Detroit, and have two Russian olive trees in my backyard (along with several pines, a purple beech, a honey locust, a Chinese elm and more bushes and hedges than you can imagine--including a full-blown fern forest. Small yard, patio and terrace both...very private and lovely.

Problem: We've been hit hard the last few days with storms, bad ones. Even the Edison transformer exploded on Sunday. Monday night's storm brought horrible rain, wind and lightning. One Russian olive tree got hit by lightning and split off a huge "branch" of about 6" around and 18 feet long. The tree looks a bit lopsided now, but I'm hoping it will fill out in time. Meanwhile, I've cut the branch off and up to have DPW remove it. Now the main tree trunk has about a foot-long exposed section with no bark. I do not want to lose this tree. It's full height, about 24', and is the 4th Russian olive I've planted at three different homes. What can I do to prevent further damage?

Thanks!


Answer
If you are asking what to do with the exposed area on the trunk the answer is do nothing. Clean the splinters back smooth and let the tree heal itself. The tree will over time seal the cells in the exposed area and maybe even grow bark over this area (ofcourse the bark growth will take some time). There are several paint type products around but they will slow the growth of the new cells. You can spray the area with an insecticde to keep insects from boring into this area (Dursban is a good spray).