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A couple of my trees have water near the base where the tree forks upward.

One guy suggests using chainsaw to cut small drain hole at bottom of bole, and then fill bole up with cement?

Is this what I should do?

I don't want to do anything that will seriously harm the tree.

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    Please add a photo. What you've described could be a bacterial disease called Slime Flux - or not; this is why photos (one for about 10 feet away, another one or two close-ups) are essential. And do NOT do what that guy suggested. It makes absolutely no sense.
    – Jurp
    Nov 26, 2021 at 23:00
  • Do you mean the tree trunk is hollow ( rotted)and holding water ?
    – blacksmith37
    Nov 27, 2021 at 16:50
  • jurp: I will get picts. Cement would prevent more water, I suppose. Even with drain hole cut in, moisture from No. Cal. night and morning dew may build up moisture. Humidity here at 1100' elevation has been > 50%. blacksmith: yes.
    – Doug Null
    Nov 28, 2021 at 15:58
  • Warning: concrete is unlikely to be the right solution. Water will get between bark and the plug, and stay wet.
    – Bryce
    Nov 29, 2021 at 5:34
  • My grandfather once put concrete into a hollowed-out trunk of an apricot. Thirty years later, my uncle got a huge surprise when the chainsaw he was using to cut the tree down hit the concrete. A visit to the hospital ensued. It is never a good idea to put concrete into a tree.
    – Jurp
    Nov 30, 2021 at 22:04

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Build a small roof over the wet area. This reduces risk of introducing infection by cutting a drain. And it lets things dry out, unlike the concrete plug approach (water will always get through between the bark and plug, and then it sits there wet).

For more advice: post photos.

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