hello & Happy Thanksgiving everyone ....we had a very rare 80 mph windstorm here on Whidbey Island in WA state recently, and one of my prized and very healthy & happy Japanese maples sustained some damage: an entire 1/3 side of the tree was ripped off at the trunk ....in a frantic effort to help the tree realize it's being mended, I cut off the biggest upper branch of the separated section and then reattached (grafted, if you will) the section that separated, then pulled it all together very tight with plastic zip ties ....I am hoping the very short time this section of the tree was separated, the remaining tree will recover and the section I reattached takes / regenerates and I get new spring growth on its branches com April into May .....am I dreaming ? or does what I did and how I did it stand a chance in helping the tree recover from this ? see photos ....as this is a coral bark family member, I'm guessing if the bark of the section reattached gets its red color over the remainder of Fall & Winter, it may be ok ?.....same goes for new bud growth come Spring, which will be the #1 way to see if my surgery was successful .....all insight, advice & feedback appreciate, thank you all - Marco
I think that what you did you did well. Of course, it won't heal as quickly as in June, but it really looks like you've done it all right...
very happy to hear this, thank you for your reply ....assuming the plastic zip ties are no match for the truck as it grows wider / bigger, as in: they will eventually break off ....but until this "graft", if you will, fully takes, I am going to have to keep some level of "wrap" in place at this spot on the tree - correct? ....again, I guess I'll know for sure if I fail to get any new foliage on this section come Spring .....then I'll need to know if I leave this reattached section in place or remove it .....just want to do all I can to make sure the tree itself survives .....to note: this was not merely a split, the entire section of the tree fully separated and was laying on ground next to the tree .....thanks again
Narrow angle branching like that, while beautiful, is inherently weak and now that it has been split, it will be extremely fragile for many years to come without further support. In addition to the excellent work you've done, I think you should drive a stainless steel screw through the stems, across the split - place it near the top of the split. The tree will grow over the screw head in a year or two.
Since no one else has commented on this assumption, I will say that you should not leave those ties more than perhaps a year. You'll know by then if the branch looks to be reattaching and can then decide whether to remove it or not. If it looks like it's taking, I would replace the zip ties if they seem to be getting too tight. Just today, I had to cut off a trunk from a rhodo that I had wrapped with black plastic to apply Tanglefoot (a sticky vine weevil deterrent). Much to my dismay, I discovered that, in just a few years, it had basically strangled the branch. If a branch can't break free of flimsy plastic, it sure can't bust through a zip tie.
I was about to suggest the same : I did an "approach graft" on a Larch, with a brass screw. After 2 years, it was covered by new bark. I would put new zip ties between the old ones before removing those that might cut into the bark because, yes, these ties are very strong. 1 : screw 2 : new ties 3 : prune after leaves are out, it heals better when done when the sap flows. See what I mean ? After a couple of years, I think it will look like brand new... ;-)
thank you all very much, feeling much better now about this section of the tree surviving, and "will do" on the bolt .....question: how key was it / is it that the main section of the inner bark was perfectly clean / free of any dirt or debris when I mated them back up ? although they were pretty clean, I did not take the time to spray or rinse them with the hose so there may've been some light soil from the compost I mulched with seen at the tree base .....if it is critical / was critical that the inner bark mating surfaces were absolutely spotless / free of "any" soil or compost, I may have to separate the graft and clean the mating surfaces to ultra clean ......let me know please, THANK YOU all again
Le mieux est l'ennemi du bien (*) : don't worry that much, I'm sure it will be OK. (*) Let well enough alone. ("Best is good's enemy.")
We also have a Beni Kawa in our garden. It is well over 40 years old now with the first 10 years being in a container then finally planted in a location in our garden. It is basically the dwarf version of the Coral Bark maple ( Sangu Kaku). Our tree has been kept at a height of just over 2 metres for many years now, a really nice landscape addition. You certainly did a dramatic bit of surgery there and hopefully it will survive this coming winter. I would suggest keeping it well pruned the next couple of years in order to minimize stress on the main limbs. And great point @Margot as ties do get forgotten and become a nightmare to remove if not done in a timely manner. Good luck and lets hope for abundant foilage in spring!
again, THANK YOU all for the high education & assist, hoping for the best for our Beni Kawa ....further questions on bolting at the split: 1) do I do this "now" with Fall and soon Winter temps upon us and the tree having dropped all of its leaf ? (we are on Whidbey Island in the Pac NW, so we do not see any freezes or deeps freezes here) ....2) do I use a lag bolt with threads that will cut into & thru the splint to secure or use a threaded lag bolt & nut with washers on both ends ..I would assume predrilling smaller and utilizing the thread lag bolt would be better but I'll let you guys help me make the call here .....
Since no one else has commented on this assumption, I will say that you should not leave those ties more than perhaps a year. You'll know by then if the branch looks to be reattaching and can then decide whether to remove it or not. If it looks like it's taking, I would replace the zip ties if they seem to be getting too tight. Just today, I had to cut off a trunk from a rhodo that I had wrapped with black plastic to apply Tanglefoot (a sticky vine weevil deterrent). Much to my dismay, I discovered that, in just a few years, it had basically strangled the branch. If a branch can't break free of flimsy plastic, it sure can't bust through a zip tie. thank you, I will watch the zip ties very close over the next year and clip them off as they start getting tight / tighter ......and replace them as required .....
I don't think you need/want to use a lag bolt on a tree this size. I suggest just a stainless steel screw, the length of which is about the same as the diameter of the trunk at the top of the split. It is not urgent, so you certainly can wait until after the cold snap of the next few days. Then, I would wait until the tree has leafed out to remove the zip ties - April/May, IMO.
a stainless steel screw with a nut on one end and larger washers on both ends ? (assuming yes) .....this would take predrilling the hole for the screw, where a stainless lag bolt just screws itself into & thru the trunk wood .....
Er... For me, just a plain screw (not a bolt and nut) the right size would seem fine. You will still have these ties for months, so the tree "swallowing" the screw won't take more than 2 years I think. Yes, but with a slightly thinner drill so the screw can cut a bit into the wood, you know, just like when you make "homemade shelves". But slow-speed : if it's too fast, it might burn the tissues...
52 minutes later ! Hey, a lot of us are old people like me that open their "desktop computer" sometimes 4 times a week, don't be so impatient <LOL> Relax! I'm 99% certain that if you leave your tree as it is now for, say 6-8 months, you won't have to worry at all : keep us updated in April 23... ;0)
for #3 in your notes and how you marked up my photo: do you mean come next Spring, lop off the remaining section of bigger ? along the line or down to where you drew the #3 line .... 3 : prune after leaves are out, it heals better when done when the sap flows.
If I understand your question : Yes, cut down nearer to the "trunk", but leave the "upper hem". I found back these drawings : 1 : it looks like the stub you left What is important to keep is the kind of hem I drew in red : If you leave the cut branch too long, it will rot from the inside, and the rot will get down the trunk. Of course this doesn't happen with twigs or small branches, but on larger branches, it can be a problem, especially if you live in a "rainy" climate. If you prune the stub too deep, it will be about the same problem. Leaving the "hem" (red) is the best : As I said before, to me the best time to prune hard a maple is after they've leafed out, it heals faster. My two €uro centimes' worth ;0)
excellent, understood and thank you Alain ....do I put anything on the exposed inner wood of the cut when I do after the tree leafs out in the Spring ? ....
Many people will tell you "Don't!". But I do : minimum treatment, copper-based fungicide. I also apply "Japanese sealant paste" if the wound is not too big, or anything to prevent the exposed cut to rot, like aluminium sticking tape (the kind plumbers use). In China, some use candle wax. The idea for those who exclude any kind of sealant is that it can trap in diseases. It's based on the experience of people taking care of street trees, some with wounds of 1 or even 2 metres wide. To me it doesn't apply to "garden trees" that are much smaller and more regularly cared about. If your tools are clean, the cut should be safe. Then you won't lock in diseases or fungi. I also heard that wood glue (US posts in bonsai forums, but I can't tell the brand) works fine, but I've never tried it myself.
The previous owners were very aware of the need to treat pruning cuts large and small. The remnants of tree wound dressings are found all through our orchard and range from white latex paint to silicone caulk. Unfortunately there has never been good research evidence to support pruning paint use Pruning Paints Debunked – The Garden Professors™
"Debunked", "Professor" ?... ^_^ Wounds about as large as my thumb (2.54 cm) or even four times as wide (10 cm, 4 inches) should be, in my opinion, and from my experience, "sealed" (not "painted", it implies lots of stuff that are not suitable) 3-4-5 years example needed ?... This "garden professor" shows an already rotting tree being sealed in to further rot. Who with a modicum of common sense would be as stupid do that ? <LOL> This is not exactly what we're talking about. It's not about a very large wound that has already begun to rot inside the trunk of a tree.
Have you read the entire article? How much reading on the topic have you done elsewhere? Because the statement there has never been good research evidence to support pruning paint use has a basis for being made.
@Ron B . I agree with you. @Uncle Freddy. Excellent work, you can’t do best, but you must know what is ‘bark included’ between 2 branches (please research that word on Google). Bark included between 2 branches is the initial cause of the break; the wind revealed it. May be, your tree can wed the lower part of the break, (green C-D on the picture). But the uper part is included bark (red A-B on the picture) , on this part no healing will occurs, because years after years cell expansion causes new cracks. Even if healing occurs at the bottom, the connection between the 2 branches will not be strong enough. Osoyoung’s advice to put bolt and nut is the only solution .
Metamorphosa - main branch split About included bark, i wrote: « Two main branches of equal size divide in a Y . Bark is included into the attachment between two dominant stems. That is named ‘’Condominant stems included bark = embeded bark .’’(With those words you can find documents on the net). Condominant stems with included bark don’t form strong tissues between them. With growing, internal growth pressure increase, external bark brake; that is what is happening since last year. A bulge of new cambium tissues can be expected as said by Alain but very difficult to obtain in that case (i never obtain any); if it happens, in a few years, with internal growth => pressures increasing => the secondary cambium growth will brake again, and so on ... So joining of wood tissues in that case is impossible inside nor outside. » Last edited: Feb 14, 2022