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HELP! need advice on saving a large broken branch

16 years ago

Hi. I have a mature persimmon tree that has a good amount of fruit on 2 main branches. The tree grows at an angle and one of the main branches broke off. Is there a way for me to save that branch? It is probably 6 ft. long with a lot of fruit starting to ripen. Any advise is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

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Comments (5)

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
16 years ago
I assume that you are wanting to 'save the branch' so that you can harvest some fruit, correct? I'm afraid that this won't be possible. Creating fruit takes a great deal of energy from a plant, and the energy factories (leaves) are fueled by the root system.

In terms of tree health, be sure to prune off the jagged stub to the branch collar. Leaving it as is will invite problems.
herboholic
16 years ago
Also, when I lost a very small branch I wanted to save, an expert on another forum gave me some great advice:

"spray with lysol that contains at least 59% alcohol or simply dab with cotton dipped in 70% rubbing alcohol your pruning tool and around where you want to cut that branch before and after."

Maybe a good idea to trim around the area where you lost the branch and do this and then use a sealer. I found my sealer at Ace Hardware.
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Need help regarding my Plumeria. I bought a 2 branch rooted cutting last spring and it did wonderful aside from a little stress (was dropping older leaves) it showed from the above average temperatures and frequent heavy rains. Anyway, spring seemed to take forever to get her this year so I ended up moving it from the dark corner in the basement and put it under a strong growlight to bring it out of dormancy. It got a late start but within a month I saw leaves begin to emerge from both branches. Once it was warm enough to move outside I accidentally damaged one of the growing tips during the move. It soon showed signs of rot so I cut the tip off about 3 inches below rhe rot. The other branch is doing just fine and Ive been waiting all summer to see what would happen with the branch I cut. Today I noticed a bud starting to emerge from rhe cut stem about 4 inches below the cut. My question is, do I do anything with the extra 4 inches. I'm happy about the new grown but the one branch will always be shorter and I'm not excited about that extra inches of stub above the emerging branch. Can I at some point trim that back further or is it best to just live with the stub?
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orchidguyftl
16 years ago
actually sealers are not a good idea
didnt even know they sold it anymore
it does not allow air to get to the cut surface and can actualy cause more diseases
not really advised
no body that I know of that is in the business, including myself actually uses it anymore
H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) at a 3% ratio, how you buy it in the drug store is fine for getting rid of potential hazards
herboholic
16 years ago
Using a sealer on a spot where a branch is totally gone, in this case broken off, is fine. Not properly caring for the area and sealing it off to fend off unwanted problems is not advised.
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
16 years ago
orchidguy is right. In most cases, pruning paint/sealer is not only useless in fending off unwanted problems, but can prevent a woody plant from doing its own 'healing'.

It was once thought that these products kept disease pathogens from entering a wound, but we know, now, that that is not the case. The only times that I would ever recommend that a sealer be used is if the plant in question is susceptible to a particular type of borer insect and it was the time of year for that borer to be active.

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