How do you get rid of wire damage/swelling

[Emeraldtarpon]

Hi Nuts,
I left a guide wire on too long and when i went to remove it,the branch had swallowed the damn thing and ive got an ugly swelling there now...like a ball under the bark.
Is there an effective way to reduce this swelling slowly over time,possibly by removing wood etc?
Damn,the tree was coming on really well and i made this stupid mistake (on the first,lower main branch of all places : ( Believe me,ive kicked myself in the arse for it!
Any help would be very much appreciated,thank you.

 

[FreshAirSunshine]

Pictures help - response may be different depending on the severity. Also a clarification - by “swallowed” do you mean you were unable to remove the wire and it’s still in the branch?

 

[Emeraldtarpon]

Sorry FAS,I'll get some pics asap.
Yes, the wire is still in the branch as i was unable to remove it (I pushed a small pair of wire cutters into the bark, just a little, and cut it off so it wasnt poking out).

 

[Emeraldtarpon]

Photos - Trident Maple.
Front of branch


Rear of branch

 

[FreshAirSunshine]

I’ll leave it to others since I don’t have any more knowledge than to say some pines are wired and left with it in to get a bulbous trunk look for reasons unknown to me, so I’d expect it to remain a problem if it wasnt removed. Not sure how best to go about it though. The additional info helps though.

 

[Dav4]

Photos - Trident Maple.
Front of branch
View attachment 477621

Rear of branch
View attachment 477622

Sorry, but there's no way to remedy this. That bulge will be noticeable for many years going forward. If you like the location of the branch, I'd find a way to graft just in front of the damaged area to preserve the branch. Otherwise, I'd cut it off, and perhaps start a new branch nearby. Fwiw, welcome to the club . Many of us have been there at one point or another. I did something somewhat similar with my Japanese maple raft high up on the main trunk with a guy wire that was on just a bit too tightly for a bit too long. I struggled for a while trying to save the disfigured branch/apex but eventually cut it off and adjusted the styling a bit... Just gotta move forward.

 

[Emeraldtarpon]

Sorry, but there's no way to remedy this. That bulge will be noticeable for many years going forward. If you like the location of the branch, I'd find a way to graft just in front of the damaged area to preserve the branch. Otherwise, I'd cut it off, and perhaps start a new branch nearby. Fwiw, welcome to the club . Many of us have been there at one point or another. I did something somewhat similar with my Japanese maple raft high up on the main trunk with a guy wire that was on just a bit too tightly for a bit too long. I struggled for a while trying to save the disfigured branch/apex but eventually cut it off and adjusted the styling a bit... Just gotta move forward.

Thanks very much Dav4...i thought that might be the case
Being a Trident, Im sure new buds would develop around the base of the branch if i took it off but Damn,thats going to be a really hard thing to do (im cringing just thinking about it).
Oh well, lesson sorely learnt (f**k it).
As you say, gotta move forward (while mumbling obscenities to myself).

 

[Shibui]

Exactly as @Dav4 says.
Only 2 remedies for this.
1. start over
2 time - lots of it. And even that sometimes doesn't work.

 

[Emeraldtarpon]

Im just pissed because that was an avoidable mistake that has caused a 12 mth setback.
These are the days of our lives!

 

[Maiden69]

I agree with Dav4 and Shibui... but I have seen very few people work out inverse taper in trunks using a series of "scars" running the length of the trunk. Maybe doing the same and using Callus Mate (Karusmate) on the area between the trunk and the swelling may help the slender part even out. @MACH5 is one of the few here that I have seen having success doing this, maybe he would be able to advice if it is a possibility here. I think forcing the healing on the scar in the back could also aid in swelling that end of the branch?

I also have seen Ryan use parafilm grafting tape to reduce swelling on grafts. He did an experiment using parafilm vs raffia and the conclusion was that parafilm gave much better results as raffia did induce additional swelling on the ends.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I also have seen Ryan use parafilm grafting tape to reduce swelling on grafts. He did an experiment using parafilm vs raffia and the conclusion was that parafilm gave much better results as raffia did induce additional swelling on the ends

Parafilm expands with very little force and it tends to tear or break when swelling happens.
Not all grafting tapes do this though.

 

[Maiden69]

Parafilm expands with very little force and it tends to tear or break when swelling happens.
Not all grafting tapes do this though.

yes it does, but not as easy when you pre stretch it and do a few loops, the idea is for it to stretch a little and not to constrict the tissue too hard to "control" the swelling. If you watch any Mirai videos where Ryan uses it, you will see what I mean. I have done it and it holds quite a lot of force before it breaks once looped a few times around a branch.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

yes it does, but not as easy when you pre stretch it and do a few loops, the idea is for it to stretch a little and not to constrict the tissue too hard to "control" the swelling. If you watch any Mirai videos where Ryan uses it, you will see what I mean. I have done it and it holds quite a lot of force before it breaks once looped a few times around a branch.

You can also safely eat parafilm by the way. I used miles of it in the lab before I heard that weird but true fact.
A couple loops will be strong indeed. I've used it as an emergency bandaid a couple times and it can constrict even human tissue if wrapped tight.

 

[Emeraldtarpon]

Thank you for the info...there's some very interesting stuff there.