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View Full Version : Are My Tapholes Healing OK?



Andy VT
01-15-2023, 06:49 PM
I am wondering if you all can tell me if my tapholes from 2021 and 2022 look good.
These are all 11 tapholes I have ever drilled. All are 5/16" with plastic spouts and 5/16" drops.
Specific info in the picture file name on each picture.
For the two 2021 tapholes, I know that I forced the spouts into the tree too hard. I think I fixed this for 2022.
All are very vigorous suburban trees with full crowns and full sun.
They have healed over quickly.
My concern is some bark cracking that seems to have occurred as the trees grew over the summer. I wondor if their vigor has caused more cracking than normally seen in a forest tree, or if I have done anything to cause the cracking?
Is this normal? Is it to be expected? Is it preventable? Is it of any concern for the longevity of the tree?
Thanks!
Andy
(P.S., I see that I can only put 5 pictures into a post so I'll do one more post and pick one the 11 to not include)
(It looks like the pics came in sideways... no big deal)

Andy VT
01-15-2023, 06:55 PM
The rest of the pictures2273822739227402274122742

SeanD
01-15-2023, 08:46 PM
Those are all fine. If your tap holes are healing up completely like that in 1-2 years, you have a healthy tree.

Andy VT
01-16-2023, 07:28 PM
Thanks SeanD!
To follow up, I think my tapholes look like picture D on page 6-11 of the Producer's Manual, 3rd edition.
Is picture D considered good, and the next healing stage after picture C?
(Picture D seems to be missing a caption).
If so, I guess I must be good too (and jumped to D in just one year). The bark splitting just looked a little scary to the untrained eye, from a tree longevity/ sustainability perspective.

[edit: now I see... The captions for A through D are all there.... the 4th one just isn't labelled "D"]

Pdiamond
01-16-2023, 07:38 PM
Your trees are healing up really well. Very healthy. No concerns about the cracking appearance that is normal. Kind os gives you an idea of the way the wound channel is inside the tree, in my opinion.