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Split plum tree
Anna91
Posts: 2
Help! I've just come back from a week's holiday & my 3year old plum tree has split in two with the weight of the plums. Before I left I removed a good few but obviously not enough. What can I do? I've had suggestions of bracing the two sides back together which I might try as they're still attached to trunk but I'm afraid rot might set in. I will probably have to cut them off eventually but want to try & save some plums. Any suggestions please?
0
Posts
bandage it up and use line props to support the branches. thin the plums.
Thanks fidgetbones, what should I use to bandage it up & do you think it will survive like that? It's my first fruit tree so not that experienced with them.
I think eventually the Autumn and Winter will be the victors. When rain and frost get in to those wounds it will cause all kinds of problems.
make use of the plums you have left. And then buy a replacement.
But it's worth a try at bandaging. It worked for my Victoria plum a few years ago - not the main branches, but a couple of smallish ones about 2cm in diameter. I lashed them together with biodegradeable soft string (used to be in the Guides!) and they appear now to have grown back together, though I have a support tied between the two branches (an old pair of tights) in case there's still a weakness. For larger branches I'd support with props, as Fidgetbones says, before trying the bandaging, so that there's not so much pull on the bandage. You'd be better off not using string for this job I think, because it might cut into the bark. Something softish and a bit stretchy, like old tights or even a crepe or elastic bandage might work.
This year's crop should be ok anyway, providing there's still a flow of sap up the branches concerned.