Apple Tree Seeping Water

Q. I noticed my Anna apple tree is seeping fluid and a white patsy substance from a previous cut done last year. What shall I do to help it?

Anna apple seeping fluid from old pruning wound

A. Smell the fluid. Take your finger and wipe it against this wetness and judge your nose whether the smell is “yeasty” or not. If there is a strong yeasty smell, there might be a bacterial infection going on. If it does not smell “yeasty”, then there is probably no infection. 

Wetwood or slime flux disease on older tree from a reader. Slime flux is caused by bacteria "feeding" on inner wood of tree and causing the fluid to smell "yeasty". Often times this liquid attracts flies and has a foul odor. This "disease" is not fatal to the tree but can be unsightly and create a nusiance.

            I would not do anything to the tree regardless. The yeasty smell is caused by a non-lethal infection.

            The inside of a tree has a central core of dead wood. The living part of the tree is an outer cylinder of living wood that enlarges year-to-year. The inside of the living cylinder increases the diameter of this dead, central core each year.

            Growth in the length of branches is called primary growth. Growth in width or diameter is called secondary growth.

            Secondary growth is responsible for “rolling over” pruning cuts and they can no longer be seen. When this secondary growth rolls over a wound, it surrounds or engulfs the wound, covering it, but the wound doesn’t “heal” like it does in animals.

The  cylinder of living "wood" of a tree is alive and can "roll over" a wound, even a large one, and "bury" it in the older dead wood inside the tree.

            The central core of the tree is dead. This dead wood can “rot” due to different microorganisms. This rotting caused by microorganisms can cause the “seeping fluid” you are seeing.

            I would do nothing to the tree at this time unless you see other problems developing in its overall health. Judging from the picture you sent, the old wound seems to be healing and rolling over the pruned cut very nicely.

            I would not disturb it in any way but let the tree heal on its own. It should stop weeping when tree growth begins in earnest in the next few weeks.