How to proceed after cracking a JM trunk

[fore]

while bending it? I have two JMs that have about 3/4-1" trunks that I put heavy gauge copper wire on it this winter to add some trunk movement. Both cracked, which caught me by surprise b/c I was told to do this in the dormant period, and the bends weren't that severe. Well, I put paste over the wound, then horticultural tape and covering that with elec. tape.

I was told there's going to be a nasty callous formation. Does anybody have any advice how to proceed? The wrappings are still on. I'm wondering if I should just scrape these two trees and not waste my time on them and just put this down to a bad/good learning experience?? If the trees are always going to be ugly, I'd much rather find better material to begin with. (I have some JM seedlings that I planted in my grow beds last few days, and I wired some movement into them before the become too thick. So at least I learned to do this earlier on.)

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Next time (and there will be one), don't use paste. Bend the trunk/branch back in place, and wrap it as tight as you can with parafilm, then as tight as you can with raffia, and let it recover for a couple seasons. Paste will prevent the cambium from knitting back together.

 

[discusmike]

They will most likely swell during healing in the cracked areas,and you will end up with inverse taper,you might want to let them grow out,see what they look like then chop below the cracks.

 

[fore]

I see Brian, and I'm sure you're right, there will be a next time sadly. Since this wound is pretty ugly already, I think I'll remove the paste and then carve an oval into the area in Aug when I read it's the best time to carve. I hadn't realized how often Parafilm is used too lol

Mike, I may just have to do that if the carving doesn't turn out decently.

Thanks Guys!!