I acquired a 6 ft. pine tree from a neigbor who dug it up for a fence. During removal the trunk was damaged. The bark was peeled back quite badly but I decided to take a chance and plant the tree anyway. Is there anything I can do to help it to heal or protect it? Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer. Leona
The bark will heal itself. Unless the trunk is girdled (bark removed all around), the tree will recover. You could tape back into place a flap that is torn if there is a flap remaining.
The damaged area will likely seal itself and the tree should continue growing depending on the amount of damage and the vitality of the tree. Investigate CODIT if you want more of a description. Technically trees dont heal (which infers repair of damaged tissues), they seal off wounds to prevent decay (which sometimes leads to new tissue growing over and covering damage, which doesnt go away it just becomes hidden. :)