I'm wondering what people are doing with snow-damaged Rhodos (broken branches have been trimmed off, but other branches are bent downwards), the same is true of a number of Pieris japonica. Should I stake the bent branches up, and will the plant recover its shape eventually? I also have a 20 foot pin oak that I take care of which was very straight - its about 25 feet tall, anyway, now the top 10 feet has a decided lean to one side. Should I cut out the centre leader below where it is bending? this might make it bushier lower down, which could be a good thing, I guess. I'm sure lots of people have similar problems right now!
Go ahead and splint or stake things, it won't hurt and may help. Whether it will last depends on the length of time you leave them on and on the individual tree - evergreens take a lot longer to 'take', decids. are better. If you can splint the top of the oak, and still get up there to remove the splint at summer's end, it would be better, but then if you do cut it (in spring) you'll get more and smaller branches as you would in bonsai. The trick with splinting things (not actually broken) is to be sure and keep checking them so ties don't cut into the bark (tie them relatively loosely to begin with).
I have found over the years that generally it is better to leave things to nature to take care of. Sometimes the cold makes branches very brittle and trying to manipulate them leads to more damage. I can't think of a single instance that shrubs did not right themselves once the snow melted and spring came around. I certainly have never experienced any problem with rhodos not straightening themselves out. Are you saying that heavy snow has caused the oak to lean? Again, I would think that snow melt would see it straighten itself up. I feel for you people out on the west coast having to deal with the things we easterners deal with year in and year out. My heart goes out to you all that have experienced heavy damage. I know just how devastating that is.
Whole top can be pushed over by snow when afflicted specimens are rootbound. Such unfortunates will not spring back up on their own. I've had decades-old firethorn and ternstroemia fall over from this. Part of the roots starting out going in a knot prevents them from being big enough to hold up the top, once it gets big enough to have alot of added weight from snow. Often, instead of a nice, stabilising, spread out ~mirror of the above-ground branch network there are a few major roots poking out here and there from a tight fist of roots dating from when the shrub was in a small pot.
