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Unexplained broken azalea branch

KurisuKurisu Posts: 179
in Problem solving
Hello there,

I would be very grateful for any thoughts on the following problem. I was in my garden this morning and left the house about 11:30 am. I came back at about 3:30 pm to find the following scene: 







I was a bit surprised and my first thought was that someone must have got into my garden and broken it if out of spite! I couldn’t understand how it would just happen. However, when I thought again, I wondered if it could be anything else. The branch was very dry and brittle and I found I could easily break it. Could it be that an animal could make this kind of damage? A large bird or cat, or something like that? I live in Japan, so there are also things like raccoon dogs and monkeys, though not near where I am, as far as I knew. I just wondered if anybody had any experience with this type of thing? 

Many thanks in advance.

Chris

Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Fat woodpigeons have been known to snap the things of young trees in this garden by underestimating their ow weight and landing on twigs that won’t bear them ... either  pigeons aren’t very bright or they have a self-image problem. 🙄 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • KurisuKurisu Posts: 179
    edited February 2021
    Ah, ok, that’s a reassuring thought, if only a possibility😅. Thanks very much. 
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Something jumping off the fence and misjudging the distance could do it too.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • steephillsteephill Posts: 2,841
    I might be seeing things but the top of the broken stump looks like it has a small clean cut section. Does the broken branch have a matching cut area? It may have been an intended but forgotten pruning cut.
  • KurisuKurisu Posts: 179
    Thank you both very much. 

    B3, that’s a good point. That would certainly give it some weight and would mean it could be a greater number of different animals. The former owner did say there were cats around the area. 

    Steephill, it took me a while to get what you mean, but I think I understand now. Somebody previously cut it, but not fully, and this weakened it? I will have to check it out next time I am there. It was certainly a kind of ‘step shape’ to it, if that makes sense. 

    Thanks again,

    Chris

  • KurisuKurisu Posts: 179


    That could be a very good spot. It looks very straight. 
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