dooseydog Posted March 25, 2011 Report Share Posted March 25, 2011 Hope somebody can help.I cut off , at trunk, 3 lower branches of a 30' Silver Birch in our garden, but for last two weeks sap pouring ( like a heavily dripping tap) from where I cut branches from the trunk. Appreciating this may , eventually, kill the tree - which I don't want - what can I do or will nature just take its course and the sap stop ? many thanks James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRamsay Posted March 25, 2011 Report Share Posted March 25, 2011 I think it should be ok and heal itself,I do know you could harvest the sap and ferment it,turning it into a nice brew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksdad Posted March 25, 2011 Report Share Posted March 25, 2011 Drink it/make wine with it I think the tree will bleed to death from these cuts! Not sure how to stop it, but the old geezers on the allotments used to 'tap' the birch trees to get the sap, then they just plugged to hole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRamsay Posted March 25, 2011 Report Share Posted March 25, 2011 Drink it/make wine with it I think the tree will bleed to death from these cuts! Not sure how to stop it, but the old geezers on the allotments used to 'tap' the birch trees to get the sap, then they just plugged to hole. Yep,you can make wine with the sap,and very nice it is to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39TDS Posted March 25, 2011 Report Share Posted March 25, 2011 I have a tree that has been doing this for as long as I can remember. It certainly isn't dead yet, nor does it look like it ever will be. Your tree will be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave-G Posted March 25, 2011 Report Share Posted March 25, 2011 I'm no tree surgeon or specialist but apparently Silver Birch and some other trees should be pruned when dormant during winter ish weather rather than in growing weather. I have just hard pruned mine and as yet it has not bled. I read somewhere that the "bleeding" is only a myth and that the sap is only the moisture that would have serviced the leaves of the branches that have been removed. Loads of info can be found by Googling "prune silver birch" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardo Posted March 25, 2011 Report Share Posted March 25, 2011 what i've always been told is to plug holes in birches using mud or a wooden 'cork' if you tap them for sap, else they can die as they don't heal themselves. you can only tap them in a very short period (around now) so it's not a myth, they just don't gush sap at other times of the year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardo Posted March 25, 2011 Report Share Posted March 25, 2011 here's a thread from a while ago on the subject... http://forums.pigeonwatch.co.uk/forums/index.php?/topic/31172-birch-sap/page__view__findpost__p__294722__hl__%2Btap+%2Bsilver+%2Bbirch__fromsearch__1 there was another but i can't find it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRamsay Posted March 25, 2011 Report Share Posted March 25, 2011 what i've always been told is to plug holes in birches using mud or a wooden 'cork' if you tap them for sap, else they can die as they don't heal themselves. you can only tap them in a very short period (around now) so it's not a myth, they just don't gush sap at other times of the year. Yep,you can actually drill holes into tree to collect the sap so long as you put a bung in the holes once you have collected enough to stop any infection attacking the tree Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huffhuff Posted March 25, 2011 Report Share Posted March 25, 2011 Yep, this time of year the sap is rising. Worst time to prune birch - oops. I used an auger on my silver birch at the weekend and stopped at 1/2 litre. Plugged it and moved onto the next Birch sap water is actually quite nice. But not as nice as birch sap wine! Not much help to you I know. Not sure what to suggest in terms of stopping yours. Could you 'cap' the limbs until they heal over? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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