i would contact the seller and tell them what occured and what you did ... and tell them that you would like to exercise the warranty ... unless of course.. you were the shipper ... and in that case .... would need a picture if you want any opinion about the plant itself ... as i dont quite understand how a tree breaks in half .... more facts please .... ken

I just want to make sure. Lou just said the tree was now officially a three inch stump. That is right. I saw another comment about cutting it to ground level--that would scare me. Here is why. First, I have to admit that I have not done studies and have no official knowledge--what I have is just a lot of ovservations. The sprouts I have seen on red oak trees seem to me to come from points above the root collar--I can't recall ever seeing red oaks sprout from roots, even after the tree is cut. I can't say it doesn't happen, but I do know that a red oak tree will usually sprout vogorously from points just above the root collar. Hence my recommendation for the three inch stump. If the tree were much larger, I would have recommended a 5 inch stump above the obvious root flare. Anyway, to be on the safe side I recommended a three inch stump, "no more, no less." But if any of you have any more specific knowledge concerning this recommendation, let me know. I do know that the vigorous sprouts that come from as close to the root collar as possible make the better trees and have less risk of inheriting any rot from the old stump. But I recommend a "margin of error," hence the idea of leaving three inches above the root collar for sprouts to grow from. Also, the more sprouts for the first two or three years, the better, to maintain the health of the root system, which will be the support of the future growth of the tree. I know some other trees will sprout from the roots if cut. But I have a serious question about whether red oaks do, and if they do, whether the probability and/or quantity of sprouts would be sufficient. Well, I invite information from others on this point--even though I am getting "long in the tooth," I am as eager to learn as ever, if not more so. --Spruce

Sorry to hear about your storm. Home you got some rain though! Yes, you can root the top portion. Cut off all the leaves about 1/4" from the stem with a scissors. Ths petioles will eventually dry up and fall off. This keeps the branch from drying out too much. Now, let your cutting sit for about a week or two in a shady dry place. Indoors is OK. You want the cut edge to heal and dry before you try rooting it. You may need to recut it if it's all jagged. Then I would try to root it this summer yet. And yes, clean up the old break on the rooted plant too. You could cut it at an angle so that rain does not collect in it after it heals. I'm sure others can offer better help too.

Your post is a bit confusing. If all or part of the pump body was made from magnesium, then I would suspect that high concentrations of chlorine was the cause. Magnesium is a man-made metal derived from chemistry. In other words, it is not like copper, gold, silver or iron that can be mined. If you were pouring bottles of bleach down your well as a sanitizer on a regular basis, then the chlorine attacked and weakened the magnesium casing. After 12 years, the deterioration reached the point of total failure. I am not a chemist nor a metalurgist but from what I have read about magnesium, I would go with the chlorine as being the culprit. Hopefully, your new pump does not use magnesium.