SNAPPED CEDAR TRUNK?!?

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My cedar trunk has snapped... and I am to blame! The cambium has completely disconnected on the top half but the bottom half of the trunk still seems to be connected. I wrapped it in spagnum moss then covered with cling film and held it all in with some electrical tape so it doesn’t dry out. I’ll attach some photos but I was too panicked to take photos of the snapped trunk!

Has anyone else experienced this? Will the moss urge some roots to bridge the gap of the broken trunk and form a cool feature in the future?!

Would love to hear what everyone thinks and maybe some of your ideas on what I could turn this tree into!

Thanks
 

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bonsaichile

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Top part will probably die. The tree is too young right now. Just let it grow out a bit
For future reference, I've had success mending accidentally broken branches with superglue
 

penumbra

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You are not going to get roots. In some cases you will get a cambium bridge but here I think the branch will die. It is wait and see. I also have had luck with superglue and wrapping the area.
You are not going to get a cool feature.
 

Shibui

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Depends how bad the break is. If enough structure remains intact on the unbroken side it should survive and the area will callus up and heal over in time. The problem is that callus usually swells so there will probably be a large lump just there which usually does not look cool. Broken areas that heal up are always weaker. Beware of ever trying to bend there again. It will snap off very easy if you ever put pressure on it.
If there's not enough connecting tissue left the branch will just die. Only time will tell.

All is not lost. You have lost a big part of the tree but you have gained taper in the remaining trunk and there's still plenty to use for a bonsai.
The original tree appears to be very 2 sided - not the best for bonsai. I think this break has given you better material to work with.
 

penumbra

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Depends how bad the break is. If enough structure remains intact on the unbroken side it should survive and the area will callus up and heal over in time
I would agree with you if the problem was addressed correctly right away, but it wasn't. I think the branch is history. But it is an opportunity for a remake -remodel.
 

Potawatomi13

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Think 3 times before cut once. Can always cut later but cannot put back;).
 

penumbra

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If they plant was mine I would have thought about it 12 times already. I probably would have already removed the branch whether it was broken or not and personally gone with a windswept style. Though I would create a stubby jin out of the broken branch to represent an old wind battered limb that died. I am not saying this is for you because there are several other possibilities. But consider, if you saved the branch it would remain a weak link in your design. Just my 2 cents, but I would be excited about moving on.
 

sorce

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But consider, if you saved the branch it would remain a weak link in your design. Just my 2 cents, but I would be excited about moving on.

Amen!

Don't forget your technique for when the other side needs to go!

@bonsai blt, any leaves on that other yet?

Sorce
 
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The new & I think improved atlas cedar. Didn’t want to cut off the stump from the old trunk not sure what to do with it. Hopefully when the trunk thickens it’ll lose some of that harsh kink.
 

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Potawatomi13

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Good work but still has boring straight lower trunk:confused:?
 

one_bonsai

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...callus usually swells so there will probably be a large lump just there which usually does not look cool.

This happened to me with a Juniper but can't you just carve the lump down?
 

Potawatomi13

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Always want root crown at surface of soil. Never deepero_O.

I think that some good fat copper wire should make bending the lower trunk a piece of cake

Sage advice here. Bending is good all the way up. Just don't break again. At least not so completely;).
 

Shibui

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This happened to me with a Juniper but can't you just carve the lump down?
You can sometimes carve a lump down. If you carve enough it may stay carved out as dead wood but if the area is small it will usually just heal over again into another lump.
The break shown above appears to be far too thin to carve out now so that it would heal over flat. It may be possible to carve it out after if it heals at all but it is still very thin.
In this case I think the tree is far better off without the second trunk. Often we keep parts of a tree just because they are there, not because that's a good thing.
 
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