A couple of my fig seedlings have broken branches from snow weight. They are budding out and I’m thinking of securing them back up with some wood screws. Anyone have any suggestions for a better way? I’d just cut them but the wounds would be large.
If the cambrium is still green, they may heal back up if you can match them back up. However those didn’t look very green. That limb is probably pushing leaves from its stored energy. When that runs out everything will die.
You may want to try sawing it off and sticking it in the ground like a huge cutting. Not sure of the success rate on something that big.
Best of luck!
1 Like
There is still some xylem tissue connected, the leaves wilt make their own energy as long as they get water and minerals from the roots. There is some phloem also to send sugars back to the roots but there are other intact branches to do that until it heals up so that’s not a worry. I’m thinking there is green cambium just past the break because there is no discoloration like there is with cold damage. Although these have been covered until recently so leaves might have trouble drying out in the near future.
Will cut some to stubs first to see if helps. I’ve got one branch callusing now, expecting it should root even easier since it has that heal on the end.
If mine I’d cut those off. The damage will still be there if you piece it back together. In fact it will heal over faster with the cut exposed and trimmed properly. Figs are like weeds. It will grow a new branch in no time.
Sticking a screw in it just makes a bigger wound and right into the wood. Not that such treatment would bother anything.
2 Likes
Yeah, those are 3rd year seedlings and already have trunks thicker than baseball bats. One thing I didn’t mention is most of the branches up high on one of them broke so I’d probably have to top it because there would be damage on multiple sides and probably no buds left to grow.