Forum home› Problem solving
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

What happened to my Amelanchier?

coccinellacoccinella Posts: 1,428
in Problem solving
I am heart broken. Could a squirrel  jumping from my window sill to the branch have caused it to break? The ground is moist.
Where should I cut the branch now? 

Luxembourg
«1

Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    All you can do is cut it back cleanly. It should hopefully produce another one. 
    The joys of gardening...
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I’ve had fat wood pigeons snap branches on mine when trying to eat the young leaves …. never a stem as thick as that, but I suppose a couple of fat woodies on the same branch might just do it 🤔 

    I agree with @Fairygirl … clean it up … it’ll come again. 😊 

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





  • coccinellacoccinella Posts: 1,428
    :'( Thanks. Shall I cut it at the base? 

    Luxembourg
  • Cambridgerose12Cambridgerose12 Posts: 1,134
    Yes, close to the base would be best.
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    edited April 2023
    Back to the base is good.  Back to a node would be enough, but it depends on aesthetics.

    Squirrels? pigeons? I doubt it.  Amelanchias are quite flexible. I would suspect a human agency.  Maybe a deer.  The flowers are rather early, they might tempt a pregnant/lactating deer to stretch.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Are there any discernible nodes?  If so I would cut it above the third from the base, or if there aren’t 3 then above the highest node there is below the break. 

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





  • coccinellacoccinella Posts: 1,428

    The branch is hollow, and this is what I found inside 
    And it is still moving. It got in through a hole that it probably burrowed 
    Do you know what it is?

    Luxembourg
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    Oh dear @coccinella, no wonder the branch snapped. No idea what it is though and hope somebody else does. I would pop a a jam jar over the top of it to isolate it until it can be identified. Don't want that wandering around your garden until it is.

    As an aside I've PM'd you.
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    There are various caterpillars that like to eat Amelanchier leaves. It is part of a lifecycle, I would be vigilant but hopefully that is the end of it. It would be good if someone knew their caterpillars!
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • Nel_StaffsNel_Staffs Posts: 93
    edited April 2023
    My insect identifier app suggest it is the larva of the leopard moth. Can cause significant damage to trees. 
Sign In or Register to comment.