I bought a little apple tree a couple of years ago from a garden center the first year it produced one tiny apple, however last year it began to look sickly and didn’t produce any fruit and I noticed that the trunk has split near the base. This year it is growing well and looks as if it might be recovering as the blossom is already coming and lots of new leaves however I notice that on one side of the trunk it still has a split open wound . should I just leave it to recover itself or is there anything I can do to help it seal the split?any help appreciated.

Answer by Hot For Roza
I think that you should treat it with dignity and respect…

Answer by bandit254xp
theres a meathod called bark traceing its had to explane but you can call a arborist to do it and a nice pruning never hurt eather

Answer by jimdc49
Is the split just in the bark, or all the way through the tree? If it is just the bark splitting, don’t worry about it. Just put some mulch around it,1″ or so deep, to keep lawn mowers and weed eaters away.
If it is a young, small tree and the split is clear through the tree, You can take a drill and make the smallest hole possible. Run a bolt through, with the smallest washers that will work. Before you tighten them down all the way, take a knife or a razor, and cut away the bark under the washers. Then tighten them up until the split is closed.
I’ve done this with several young trees, and over 75% of them have survived and are nice healthy trees.

I have a bonsai ficus, it seems fairly young. I have seen a $ 300 bonsai ficus at a local garden center and the trunk was inpressive. It had roots coming down from different heights of the trunk, very beautiful. How would one go about increasing the diameter of the trunk and helping it to create these root systems that form out of the trunk?
Thank you.

Answer by mramell48
Keep trimming it, fertilize it and make sure you water it.. Only time will grow it though. Trimming keeps the energy at the lower levels instead of out on the branches and leaves..

Answer by reynwater
Only time (age) will increase the trunk size.

The exposed roots are achieved when transplanting. At each transplant root ends are trimmed and when repotted more root is left uncovered by soil. Gradually over time you get the effect of the tree being elevated by its own roots.

Here are some Bonsai techniques: http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=bonsai+techniques&ygmasrchbtn=web+search&fr=ush-ans

Answer by Matsu Bonsai
Trunks are grown. To quickly increase trunk girth you should allow the tree to grow unrestrained. Trimming will only slow the growth. Once you get the desired thickness you can remove overgrown branches and regrow finer, more delicate branches with newly sprouted growth closer to the trunk.

Here’s a link to help you get started:

http://www.matsubonsai.com/blog/post/2008/05/How-to-Get-Started-in-Bonsai.aspx

Here’s a great resource about ficus:

http://bonsaihunk.us/

He is a mut, probably a mix of lab and german shepherd, who we rescued from the pound 4 years ago. Is there any thing we can use to keep our big dog out of the flower beds? He doesn’t really dig in them, he just uses them for a bed! He has a dog house, but rarely spends time in there. We spent yesterday mulching and want to keep him from laying in them. We wondered about spreading cayene pepper. Would that work or is there any thing we can buy at a garden center? Any ideas?

Answer by MJ
You can fence that in using some sort of pickett fencing or what not. Cayenne won’t bother your dog but will kill any insects living in there. If he was digging, I would say to put down chicken wire cause that hurts their feet but he is just laying there so fencing is probably your best choice.

Answer by Lisa R.
I would not suggest putting pepper or anything like that in there for the simple fact that some products, even spices may have an adverse reaction for your plants and flowers.
Instead I would suggest buying some fine weave Metal fencing that you can still see through that is atleast 2 feet high
and placing that around the outside of the planted area.
If you are also concerned about wild animals that may wander into your gardens , I have used garlic plantings around the edges and also sprinkling human hair here and there within the bed. ( I know this sounds kind of gross) but it works because the scent of Humans deters animals and keeps them from eating your produce and plants.
I’m not sure where you live, I am In upstate NY and right now our flowers and things are just starting to flower, I’ve done all of the above, as we have possums, skunks, squirrels and other things that Love the gardens here.
Good Luck and remember, a good NO and shaking a can of beans or something Loud to startle him, may also do the trick when you catch him there. Dogs hate loud noises.
I am not one for tying a dog but if all else fails that may be your only option when you cannot monitor what he is doing.
Take Care.

Answer by greenfingers
Apart from planting thorny plants to deter him the only answer is a fence. Dogs and gardens do not go together well. It might be worth fencing off part of the garden for you and leave some for the dog!