Rabbits chewed up the bark last year, and it looks like something has tried to push up the cages recently to get to them. I think the main stem of one is dead, and it has started a second offshoot from under the damage.
The damaged area looks very dry, the bark is peeling, and leaf buds grew above it but never opened. I’m thinking of replacing this one later, because that would be a weak point if it grows large.
I’m not sure about the second one. The bark around the rabbit damage looks very dry and peeling, but everything above that looks healthy. Will this damage heal, or should I just replace both?
Pictures don’t seem to be uploading at the moment, I can try again later.
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I think those will both be fine! Basswoods are very resilient, and suckering is actually one of their well known characteristics in the wild.
The first one - it’s original trunk is probably dead/dying, but the sucker from below the damage will become the new trunk. If you want, you can cut the dying trunk off to give the new one more room to grow (and maintain a tidy appearance since this is a yard tree.) In nature, it would just rot off eventually on it’s own.
The second one - I think the damage will heal, and as long as the leaves look healthy I would just leave it alone. If it starts do die you could cut it back to the ground, and encourage new sprouts.
Realistically, I don’t think any damage that happens to a tree at that size will effect it’s structural strength once it gets big.
It’s fairly common for young trees to be “coppiced” by dear or rabbits several times, but each year their root system gets a little bigger and stronger, until finally they send out sprouts that grow so fast they make it past the vulnerable stage.
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