Tree damage to the living tissue is minimal, as the small hole quickly fills with resin and completely heals in time. Using a borer is a quick method that foresters use to determine tree age without cutting a tree down to look at its rings. Each ring is a layer of wood produced during the tree's growing season. The cambium provides growth width, which is how the tree gets larger in diameter over time. The branch tips provide growth in height above the ground and serve to make a tree taller and taller.
Root tips grow below ground and extend the roots into a large root ball.
In the spring, when moisture is plentiful, the tree devotes its energy to producing new growth cells. New tissue is created on the inside and the outside of the cambium, adding to the diameter of the tree. The job of the phloem is to carry food produced in the leaves down to the branches, trunk and roots. Xylem cells account for most of the diameter growth in a tree each year. Xylem transports water and nutrients from the roots up to the leaves.