Slime Flux or Wetwood
Forest Health Guide for Georgia Foresters
Written by Terry Price, Georgia Forestry Commission
Adapted for the web by the Bugwood Network
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Slime flux or wetwood is a condition in trees that is characterized by the bleeding of sap through a wound in the bark (Figure 148). Fluxing may occur in the spring and/or fall and is generally confined to trees larger than 12 inches in diameter. Some type of wound caused by mechanical means; wood split by freezing or wind injury usually precedes slime flux. Oaks, elms and maples are the species most often affected by slime flux but certain softwoods are susceptible.
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Figure 148
photo by Fred Baker |
The fluxing or oozing of sap is a result of bacterial activity at the wound site, which may be deep within the tree. As the bacteria grow pressure is produced and has to be released to the outside. When this happens, fluxing is evident on the outside of the tree. The sap may be clear and alcoholic in odor or viscid and odorous and variously colored.
Slime flux cannot be cured. Debate still exists among tree experts as to the treatment methods used for slime flux. Most experts feel the disease is not life threatening and therefore make no recommendations to control it. The other school of thought is to install drainage pipes just below the point of fluxing to relieve internal pressures within the tree. The pipes allow for the collection of the sap into pans so it can be discarded. Otherwise the sap will ooze down the tree and become an attractant for yellowjackets and other wasps.
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One-half inch diameter copper pipes should be installed below the fluxing area to a depth of two to four inches. The pipe should be slanted upward with a driving fit. The pipe should be long enough to extend 6-8 inches from the tree (Figure 149).
Fluxing usually diminishes after several years with or without drainage pipes and shade tree owners should regard slime flux as a non-life-threatening event.
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Figure 149
photo by Tom Hall |
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