Last night there was a strong thunder storm. In the morning when I was browsing through the trees, to my horror, I found a branch of my persimmon tree was broken. It was planted last year, so still very young. I am still training it. The branch broken was a major one. Even worse, it split the main trunk. I thought about 2 options - a) cut off everything above and regrow, that’s like half of the tree. b) graft it back on and hope it will heal. If I hadn’t tried grafting 2 months ago, I would probably go with option A. Now with everything handy (knife, grafting tape and temflex), I tried option B and patched it up. Trimmed some leaves off to reduce the need for water. See the photos below.
However I still feel uncomfortable - will this limb become really weak and break in the future? How do I ensure the union will be as strong as before? I am sure someone has experienced similar situations. What did you do and how it turned out eventually? If your experience proved that the branch patched up would be prone to breakage again in the future, I would rather remove the top now and regrow it.
Are there any other better options? Thanks!
The red arrow points out the breaking point:
Close up
Put the branch back into the position
Wrap up with grafting tape
Over the years, I found it easier to match the crotch up, then use rope across the highest points you can, then apply pruning sealer at the edges and tape it up (parafilm, then garden or vinyl tape). It’s harder to get just the tape by itself to hold the broken limbs together.
You did a great job and it should heal over time. I have patched several limb breaks before that was mostly from my over bending. They heal but it might take a year or two to strengthen.
i had one of my 5 ft cherries snap in the middle of the trunk 2 years ago . put 2 pieces of bamboo on either side and taped it. you can’t even find where the break was now.
Thanks, fruitfruit!
Good to know it will heal. I checked the leaves today and they are still thriving in this hot weather 90F. I sure hope the fix will work.
Like you said, I put a second string up high to hold the broken limb as an insurance. Temflex alone may not be sufficient. Let’s hope for the best.
Thank you!
Thank you Bill!
Glad you shared your experience! I will definitely give it 2 years to get to the full strength. I have another persimmon left by previous owner. The tree is so lopsided towards north. I can tell there was a much stronger branch facing south, but already gone. Probably too many fruits broke it. This unknown old persimmon tree is not a good cultivar. Every spring I will find some winter damages. Last year it was blown down by wind. Very poor anchorage. That is why I planted a new one last year. But this one got a broken branch as well. So maybe persimmon branches are easy to break. Who knows.
I had a similar break on my mulberry. I tied it back exactly as you did. It is still green and producing mulberries so I am hopeful that it is healing well.
had my juliet cherry literally snap in half during a thunder storm. was about 1in. and only had a 1/4in. strip holding it together i put it back the best i could and used 2 bamboo pieces to splint it together and tapped the heck out of it. by fall it grew back together and now 2 yrs later you can’t even find it. i thought for sure the tree was a goner!
When a branch is more than half the diameter of the trunk or dominant branch it’s connected to the dominant wood cannot surround the oversized branch with adequate connective tissue and so such branches often easily snap, especially ones with inverted bark.
I would have only used a stake to support the broken branch and vinyl electric tape, keeping an eye out for girdling. Actually, I probably would have simply cut off the broken branch keeping only the part of the split needed to support the leader. But then, I already have lots of mature, bearing fruit trees.
That also makes it easier for me to bite the bullet and cut out oversized branches before breaks happen. Subservient branches make for a more balanced and aesthetically pleasing tree and encourages earlier fruiting on wood that can handle a load.
Looks like you guys all had much worse cases than I did. It is encouraging to see they all survived. So far mine is doing well. The re-attached branch is still green, but no new growth. The other 3 branches all started new growth now.
I just had a 10 ft persimmon snap in half in a storm and lost the top 4 feet. I made a clean cut just above the highest branch left. Still has a decent amount of leaves. Any recommendations on anything else to do?
