Yes you can provided as you say "not snapped so they appear to still be viable".

You can also use stretch tape to pull them back in alignment. Tie tape to branch and use the trunk as a securing point. You can pick that up at your local nursery.

Thunderhead needs to be cleaned out when subjected to heavy snow loads. I just shake the branches to accomplish this. You were lucky the branches didn't snap.

Dave

yes - very lucky. The stretch tape sounds like the way to go.

thank you very much for the quick response - off to the nursery now as the sooner these are straightened out the better. They are not realigning on their own so I will give them a helping hand with the stretch tape.

Next winter I'll be out there shaking the branches boss...

- Britt

sundog, if you can't find that stretch tape Dave mention, panty hose work as well. Now finding some green ones might be a bit of a challenge.
Marshall

Maybe in Lodi,California ? T.

That's right...we've got it allll here in Lodi!!

Hi Sundog. I've been most impressed with P. thunbergii 's capacity to 'flex' under heavy snowloads.I have a 5' 'wild' one wich was flattened back in december by about 18" of heavy wet snow.It soon stood back on it's feet although the side branches are drooping,with the 'heads' turned upwards and silky buds swelling every day now.I think I'll leave it to do it's thing.
Barbara...I knew that would fire you up!You never answered my query about Heucheras and Blue spruce on Sluice's tour prt3! T.

you may do whatever you like ...

but after years of doing such .. i now take a much more zen approach.. and let my plants assume whatever shape they prefer ...

rather than forcing my aesthetic on them ....

frankly .. you can make it look just like it used to be.. until the next storm that is ... and then perhaps.. instead of bending ... it will break where you tried to 'fix' it ...

confers in nature tend to assume shapes that allow them to better withstand mother nature .. and that does include breaking off of weak limbs ...

as noted.. whatever makes you happy is fine with me ...

ken

"as noted.. whatever makes you happy is fine with me"

I agree.

A lot of circumstances enter in to what approach to take concerning damaged or out of sorts plants. In the tight constraints of a small conifer garden the repair or staking of some plants is necessary to retain order and make the garden flow. A ice storm or heavy snow can totally wreck some conifers. Some have the ability to recover on their own others do not. To avoid this take precautions before hand on the ones in question that could sustain irreparable damage. To avoid this get the twine out and wrap those in question. Most arborvitaes fall into this category...Thuja occidentalis 'Degroot's Spire' for example.

In larger gardens with unlimited space... then free range of plants with no human intervention probably works for most of us. I wish I had that option but that's not to be.

There are two different worlds we are dealing with here...the un-natural...cultivars and the natural...species. When you deal in the world of make believe...cultivars... then you do things different in order to bring off the look your after which includes staking, wrapping and tying. Bonsai gardening in the extreme is what I call it...creating an un-natural look that is unique and beautiful. When you want that look then free range or the zen approach not an option.

Dave

When pruning, I always prune for expected snow, and or, ice load. Playing 'catch-up' is not the way to go if you can help it.
Sundog, if you bring that branch back up to where it was, it will just get larger and catch more of a snow load next winter. As I see it you have two options. Shorten the branch or cut it off.
Japanese Black Pines lend themselve to creative pruning as evidenced in Japanese gardens. Have fun!
BoTann

I guess I use a modified zen approach. In my zone 5 I wait until late May to take corrective action on bent branches. Many will come back on their own. If they don't rebound, then I revisit them and decide what, if anything, I do next.

tj