How to cure a hollow in a tree: the old-fashioned way
Unfortunately, the appearance of a hollow in a tree can hardly be called a rarity. There are several reasons that could give rise to such an unpleasant phenomenon.
As the expert of the online publication BelNovosti, scientist-agronomist, landscape designer Anastasia Kovrizhnykh explained, the appearance of a hollow can be provoked by improper pruning of branches, breaks of branches from weight, cracks in the bark, etc.
However, if you notice a hollow in an apple or pear tree, put off dealing with it until better times and start treating the tree.
To do this, you should arm yourself with a garden knife and cut off all the dead parts of the tree. This should be done both inside and outside the hollow.
The next step is disinfection of the cleaned wood, for which a 5% solution of copper sulfate will come in handy.
Wait until the treated part of the tree dries, after which you can seal the hollow with garden pitch or garden putty.
This option is suitable for those cases when the hollow is not very large. Over time, the tree will grow bark on the damaged areas, and the destruction process will stop.
If the hollow is of impressive size, the treated cavity should be filled with expanded clay or fine drainage. The next step is filling with liquid cement or clay.
Now you should wait again until the putty dries and cover the hollow area with garden pitch.
