I keep forgetting to remove mine. So far I haven’t had any problems but it was a fairly mild season. Tbh for plastic it’s really a rip off. Wonder if you got a bad batch? How long did yours last?
I had only one break on me, from several dozen, over 20 years or so. No complaints on durability. Just the spike in the V can rip the bark open in a tear, if the spreader slips along the branch. I sometimes put a washing line clip on the branch, just above the spreader, to prevent that.
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I’ve been using these for a few years and I have not been impressed. The ends break off too easily. Makes them useless.
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So I tried this with a piece of 3/8 x 3/8 cedar that I cut on the table saw. Put a brad in each end, head ground off to a point on the grinder. Will
see how she works…
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I used to buy spreaders like that which were produced by down-syndrome folks as a means of giving them useful employment. They worked great but the operation shut down. Those plastic spreaders pretty much suck for me. The plastic isn’t sharp enough to puncture the bark and hold it in place. the Tre-form spreader is much better and even better than your creation because it’s lighter… except that yours won’t get bent if required to hold too much pressure.
I tape a strong apple shoot right up to the tips of Tre-form spreaders when extra strength is required… or double them up.
The main advantage of Treform spreaders is that I don’t have to spend the time to make them and they are light enough not to make shipping too expensive. Those wood ones used to cost a fortune to ship from Washington ST. where they were made.
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I tried the toothpick approach on my miniature nectarines and it worked great. Will only work young/new branches, I think. By the time they fell off/o removed them, they were growing properly. I also bought some lath (so cheap) and quick cut to the lengths I needed and cut indentations at the ends that fit the trunks/branches. It’s so inexpensive and easy. I plan to try the water bottle trick next year.
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I may have posted this a few years ago further up the thread, but when I need to spread branches much too thick and long for conventional spreader I find a sapling with a co-dominant leader, hinge the branch and pull it to a more horizontal position while wedging the sapling against it to hold it. I use electric tape to hold the side without the split leader against the branch. The sapling spreader may be as long as 6’ or more. Anytime a spreader tends to slip, electric tape can solve the problem.