Little did I know when I wrote about the virtues of flowering trees, that a week later I would be writing about how to put those trees back together.
Recent snowstorms have wreaked havoc on many trees that were in full bloom. Those beautiful blossoms caught the heavy, wet snow, and the weight caused breakage.The resulting damage makes pruning and repairing a timely subject.
Flowering plums have been most seriously damaged. Although these trees are lovely in full bloom, they have an inherent weakness in the tree structure. They grow with upright branches that form narrow angles to the trunks. Proper pruning partially compensates for the poor tree structure but flowering plums are always susceptible to damage.
Bradford pears can also sustain storm damage. These trees have all the branches coming out of the trunk at nearly the same point. When the branches are stressed, the trees split, suffering severe damage. The best way to deal with the problem is to select better cultivars of flowering pear.
Aristocrat, Redspire, Chanticleer and Capitol are improved forms that are not as prone to develop a poor branching structure, and are therefore less prone to breakage.
The best approach to prevent damage is to properly select, prune and train the trees -- although that is small consolation to the homeowner contemplating a broken tree in the middle of a snowstorm.
Repairing storm damage is an exercise in patience and frustration.
Branches should come out from the trunk at a 45-degree angle. Separate the branches so they do not all come out at the same point on the trunk. Remove dead, broken or diseased branches promptly. Trees are often damaged by the domino effect -- when one branch breaks and falls onto a lower branch, it may also break and destroy more branches below.
Start by evaluating the damage. You cannot reattach branches that are broken from the tree.
Prune off the remaining stubs by cutting them back to the collar or branch bark ridge.
As to the question of where to make the cut, think of the trunk as the main plant and the branches as other plants growing along the trunk. When you prune to remove the damage, prune the branch tissue but not the trunk tissue.
Avoid flush cuts (which opens up more tree tissue for decay) and remove the tissue that closes the wound. Tree paints or wound dressings are no longer recommended -- they are unnecessary and sometimes actually damage the tree.
The best disinfectant? Sunshine.
If the trunk has split apart, repairs are different. For a tree worth saving, pull the trunk back together. Smaller trees can be lifted back into place, while larger trees can be pulled back into position with pulleys or winches. Be careful when trying to do this that you do not cause further damage to the branches. Do not wrap them with wires, even to pull them back in place.
Anything that goes around the tree can damage it, but fasteners that grow through the tree cause very little damage. Insert eye-bolts to pull the tree together. Then drill a hole through the trunk and insert threaded rods or bolts through the holes. Put washers and nuts on each end and tighten them to pull everything together. The bolts are left in place permanently and the trees will grow over the metal.
Larger branches are often braced with steel cables, but as with all larger trees, that job is best left to professionals.