I decided to go with the 'wood filler' texture method instead, painting Elmer's Wood Filler over the trunk and branches, and a thicker grainier filler for bases. I glued the leaves on and added a few skulls from different species to the base- the idea being this this tree has been successful over the years. After using a creature to attack it's former comrades it either sends it off the victim to spawn a new tree somewhere, or draws the creature back to slowly expire and nourish the roots.
Other than a few touch ups here and there (blending the leaves into the branch better) this is pretty much done except for paint.
Thanks for watching and I'll see you all on the other side