will try for pix tomorrow --in meantime, just heavy snows, which we've had before. no temp records. tree was planted to overhang small pond that was installed before we bought house. pond was cemented in, but cement developed several cracks. had pond refitted last year, so that about 1/3 of root system is no longer getting water -- getting plenty of water from remaining 2/3. plenty of leaves on branches and twigs overhanging pond. other change in microclimate was large branch from overhanging tree fell last winter. red maple now getting more sun.

In the top picture there is a narrow 'V' where the two main branches diverge. Narrow crotches like this split easier than branches that go out at a wider angle. Snow and ice usually do it as the branches get larger. Kids and dogs are also culprits, as is mishandling. If you look closely this has already happened at the very top of the maple. Choose a maple with a good structure that will hold a good canopy in the future. The lower left limb on my maple has no future as it will eventually be superceded by the branches above it. It does not contribute to supporting the canopy. It has subsequently been removed. I should have spotted it earlier.

The company replied, and told me that if I researched Ryusens, the characteristics would all be the same = same cultivar even if not same clone. Unless they thought Joe Public wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the two anyway, and since information on 'Eric's Weeping' was scarce descriptions of the other would do. Yes: it's not unusual for wholesale growers to have "their own introductions" that look a lot like existing, familiar varieties with different naming. For instance I've had a grower representative in my area use the same phrasing to characterize a conifer that had their own naming on it as was used about the 'Eric's Weeping'. That is that it had the same features as another, widely sold kind. As with the response about the 'Eric's Weeping' it wasn't an explicit admission that they had put their own name on an established variety, but... I've also had a grower here explain an unfamiliar variety name for a flowering tree they were offering by saying that it consisted of propagations of unlabeled specimens that were already on the property when they bought it. That they had actually assumed that this existing planting was the same kind as a variety they knew in the old country. But had gone ahead and made up a new name for their own sales here in the US. The way they came right out with this story made me think such looseness with cultivar names was thought to be standard operating procedure in the industry. There certainly are cultivars that have acquired multiple synonyms over time, same as with various wild species plants.

This is a common complaint for people who grow weeping Japanese Maples where heavy snowfall or ice is a problem. These trees should be pruned with snow or ice load in mind to prevent splitting in the first place. You don't want the branches to catch more weight than they can hold. We need a picture to determine the damage on whether it will 'heal' or not. I have cut off the weaker side and shortened he other side with the idea to eventually remove it also as the lower branches gain height. It all depends on the length and location of the split. Either way, it's a big setback. Mike