Yoshino Cherry Girdled By Twine

I Saved a Life Today

Today, while walking in Trumbull, CT I saved a Yoshino Cherry choking to death.  As a horticulturist, I did what I’ve been trained to do.  I took my knife, bent down and removed the obstruction.

Yoshino Cherry Girdled By Twine
The synthetic twine around this root will cut off the flow of nutrients to the rest of the tree.
Yoshino Cherry Girdled By Twine
Carefully cutting the twine. Point the blade away from the bark to avoid injuring to the tree.
The Synthetic Twine is Cut
The tree can breathe after cutting the synthetic twine.
Synthetic Twine Girdling Tree
I discovered this tree years ago in the last stages of death. It had synthetic twine embedded into the trunk.

As the tree roots expand the twine cuts the flow of nutrients eventually choking the tree to death.  This tree would have died a slow and agonizing death.

I gave the Yoshino Cherry a chance to live.  A chance to brighten people’s spring with blooms and summer with shade.

Please carefully remove all twine, synthetic or natural, from around the trunk and roots when planting trees.

By John Holden