broken Japanese Maple Tree

[nychris]

Over the winter during one of the heavy snow storms we had this year in NY, one of the branches of my Japanese Maple Tree split from the snow piling up on top of it. One side of the tree is laying on the ground as you can see in the pictures. Is there any way to fix this? Also, this tree was purple last year, but now it's green. Can I turn it back to purple somehow?

Thanks!

 

[BC WetCoast]

There are two ways I would suggest you consider:

1. Remove the broken limb accepting the fact that there will be a hole in canopy for a few years until it fills in.

2. Bolt the break back together using Redi-rod. I would probably add a small cable or two as well higher up the limb using small J lag screws. Then prune the broken limb to lighten it and to shape it.

 

[rarefish383]

I would normally suggest a through bolt and cables also, but in this case it looks like the damage might be too great. The life of the tree is a thin layer of tissue under the bark called the cambium. On the broken piece it looks like less than 20% of the bark and cambium is intact. That might not be enough to support the growth of the tree. On the upright piece of the trunk there is only an inch or so of heart wood, which is the strenght of the tree, left. Another thing that may work against you is it's been several months since the damage occured. If it had been pulled back together, bolt installed, and cabled, within the first couple days, it would have had a better chance. Now the bends in the broken piece have had a chance to "stiffen up" so to say. When you try to pull them back together there can be more damage done by forcing the pieces back together.

It's a pretty little tree, but I think I'd start over. If you take the broken piece off there's not much strength left in the upright piece, and that's a big hole to fill in. Will your insurance help cover rerplacement?

On a second thought, you could also put props under the limbs to help support the weight of the crown, and take weight and stress off of the tree itself. The props would be under the canopy and out of sight. But, if it were mine, I'd still start over. Good luck, Joe.

 

[rarefish383]

Oops, we told you to put a through bolt, or redi-rod in but didn't tell you how. You need to get the 2 trunks back together as tight as possible. On a tree that small you could probably use a ratchet strap a foot or so above the crack. Wrap something around the bark to protect it as you tighten up the strap. You could also use a jack under the broken limb to help lift it back, again try to protect the bark. You want to avoid any twisting of the broken piece. It may take a couple friends to stabilizie it as you lift. Once the gap is closed back up, you need to drill a hole through the highest and thickest part of the break. I'd use a piece of 1/2 inch all thread from the hardware store. put a large washer on both sides and tighten up. Then you can use scew eyes and light cable or wire to fasten limbs above the beak. See if you can get high enough above the break to get some leverage and screw in the eyes facing each other. If they are close enogh you may be able to get a turn buckle and use it instead of wire. I'd also use props on the ground to help eliminate any twisting. Good luck, Joe.

 

[treeclimber101]

I think thats some great advice and I agree that props would work out great , and hopefully that branch won't wither in the summer sun , this type of repair is somewhat difficult , but with that being said when I worked in the nursery we would graff all different types of trees together , weeping cherries with upright , red and pink dogwoods and with the proper care you will be able to salvage this tree , it is a high dollar replacement at that size so try hard , and there is one more thing to consider, wrap that break with tape preferably electrical black tape it stays tight and really sticks well in the summer sun , at that height ants will be trying to get in there... and that never is a good thing , and as for the color question there is nothing you can do to change the color , that is affected by the weather , many warm autumn days give you more reds hot summer days will bring out the greens and this tree will cycle color many times so be patient that the true beauty of a maple , good luck with your repair..

 

[nychris]

Thanks for the excellent advice everyone! I'd like to try and salvage the tree. A friend of mine estimated it would cost me $800 to buy a new tree that size. I guess I could ask if my homeowners insurance covers this, I never thought of it. Over the last few months I had been holding the tree up with a piece of plastic PVC pipe. I took it off so I could take a picture of the break.

The repair does sound somewhat difficult as I've never done anything like this before. I'll ask a friend to help out.

I was wondering about the color, I guess I'll just wait and see if it turns purple again. I have 4 of these, and 3 of them are purple right now, only that one is green. I just bought this house in July so I haven't seen the tree year round yet.

I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks again for the advice!

 

[nychris]

I took the advice above and put a bolt through it a few months ago. It's also leaning on a PVC pipe for now until it's stronger. I guess I'll just wait and see how it holds up at this point. How's it look?

 

[treemandan]

I fix a good number of these too. I use a metal fastener of some sort and then use Arbor Tie to brace the canopy. Well, atually, first support the canopy then drill the fastener.

 

[Adkpk]

That's great. Looks like it's going to be fine.

 

[nychris]

That's great. Looks like it's going to be fine.

Nice! Thanks again everyone for the help. I'm sure I'll have other questions for you all since I'm a new home owner (1 year) and know very little about this topic, but I'm learning.