Ring Barking

When do I ring bark a damson tree to make it produce, & how far from the ground.

Thanks in anticipation.
ewal.

 

Ring barking of damson trees is not a normal procedure, as far as I am aware. The trouble with all members of the plum family is a disease called Silver Leaf. This gets into the tree through damage to the bark and eventually kills the tree. Indeed, pruning of these trees is often where the fungus gains entry. Certainly pruning is not supposed to be done after the beginning of August. So, I would guess Spring is the best time.
Damsons flower very early in the year and fruit production is affected by either frosting of the flowers, a reduction of bee activity and wind chill at anytime from flowering to fruit formation.
Our trees normally produce somewhere in the region of 2 cwt of fruit some years, this year we got 12 damsons, (not lbs, kilos, just a dozen fruit) and they were all wormed too!
Perhaps like us your tree is in a too exposed a position?
Hope this helps, but as I say ring barking is not something I would recommend for Damsons.

[ 05. December 2005, 09:39 AM: Message edited by: Palustris ]

 

I would agree with Palustris.

Ring barking will kill the trunk and either cause infection in the tree or force it to produce spindly sideshoots and suckers. Probably both!

The cold wet spring decimated fruit up here. Not one plum, damson or apple and even the flowering cherry and golden malus had very few fruit this autumn.

For a fruiting tree a year is a very short time in its life and if conditions aren't right it won't waste energy bearing infertile fruit but the following year can, if conditions are better, have a bumper crop so be patient!

 

I would also agree. Ring barking is a technique used to kill trees - its one of the problems that squirrels and indeed deer cause. The sap of the tree runs up the outside of the trunk - cutting the bark all the way round means no sap reaches above the cut.

I would also concurr that most fruiting trees are down on fruit this year - affected by the rather odd weather in the early part of the year. It affected the amount of blossom, the amount that set, and therefore the amount of fruit.Both my apples produced very little, the same for my greengage. It happens :(

 

I'm not that familiar with the process of ring barking, but I believe its only done to trees that are producing a lot of vegative growth at the expense of flowers.
I tried it many years ago with a peach tree, and it had no effect whatsoever. The bark that I removed calloused over in no time
No pruning, seems to settle them down, if you prune, you encourage a lot of leafy growth, although I have no experience of damsons.

 

The reason I was considering ring barking the damson tree was because I have not had a fruit in 6 yrs(loads of blossom), the Vic plum fruited last year.Some years ago I knew a gardener who had 2 large green gage trees which were covered with blossom every year but never bore fruit, he was advised to ring bark after which they were loaded every year.The theory is the tree thinks it is dying so reproduces before doing so.
E.W.

 

I assume you have read up on the actual method?
Spring would be the best time and you would need to cover the wound with Wound paint (a kind of wax). Just remember that you must NOT cut the bark all the way round, only about two thirds, otherwise above the cut the tree will die. You would need also to keep an eye out for suckers and buds breaking from below the cut and remove them. The normal height for ring barking is just below the first branch.

[ 06. December 2005, 08:41 AM: Message edited by: Palustris ]

 

ewal, I still think that ring barking is not the way to go, if the tree is producing lots of flower. If you get flower and no fruit it has to be pollenation problems, if the fruit forms reaches a certain size then falls off it could be a soil problem, food or water problem.

 

Thanks for all the info, I will consider what to do in the spring but I think I have been very patient.
E.W.