It might not ever split in half. those trees are not know to fall apart.

How long has it been like that?

Hi, Thanks for your reply. We've only been in the house about 14 mos. It was like that when we moved in.

It has a 2nd problem: Planted too deep. Plant a replacement before it goes down on its own.

I'd give brandon7's rodding suggestion a try. It's not difficult and could add many years to the tree's life. Use threaded rod - stainless steel if you can find it. Drill through the two innermost trunks. Use ss washers and nuts tightened just enough to keep the split from growing more extreme. Keep a close watch for pests as there are numerous openings in the bark. Planting a small replacement is also a good idea, and rodding the existing tree will hopefully give the new one several years to gain in size. If you don't want to go to the trouble of putting in a rod, braces in the fall to protect against heavy snow load would be easy protection.

i agree with planting one or two replacements ...

and then its not a big deal .. if and when.. this one fails ..

there really is nothing you can do for this one ... i surely wouldnt spend money nor effort in hardware ... especially if you have to give some guy a boat payment to do it ...

ken

Cable it.

"It has a 2nd problem: Planted too deep."
I can't tell that that's the case. Mulch or soil may be up against the root crown, but that doesn't mean the root system is planted too deep. It's hard to see how much of a mound there is, but I think I can tell that there is one at the base of the tree. And, at this point, it's probably too late to worry about or change the soil level anyway.
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If you do cable or rod the tree, be sure it's done properly. Do some Googling for info. One key thing is not to have hardware (washers) sitting on top of cambium or bark.

I would replace the cherry tree, they have a fairly short life. It is not worth worrying about. Plant the new one and when the old one dies or splits, you will have a good sized tree.

This^. Any heroic efforts for the benefit of this very temporary plant are wasted effort in my opinion. You could remove some weight on one side of the split or the other, via pruning (do use proper technique in pruning also), but I'd not rod and/or cable. The most common outcome from such hardware placed in trees is a very serious chainsaw injury some time in the future, when some poor soul who doesn't know that junk is there inside the wood has a nasty kickback while cutting it up. And while this is just a little guy, rodding and cabling have been largely discredited, at east in large trees, insofar as means to safe conditions.

+oM

"<i>...rodding and cabling have been largely discredited, at east in large trees, insofar as means to safe conditions.</i>"

Depends on the specifics of the situation. Some people think a half rotten tree can be tied together, and this is obviously a foolish endeavor. However, when properly implemented and in the right circumstance, these procedures can greatly increase the lifespan of a tree and significantly decrease the chance of near-term failure.

But, as I said earlier, I would not pay someone to work on this tree. If I couldn't do it myself for a reasonable price, I'd either let nature take it's course or just remove the tree (at least at some time).