Charlie -

As soon as you can, get some pruning compound and spread some over the duct
tape. The objective is to seal the break from air. As along as the cambium
layer of each part of the break is aligned and airfree, the tree will
survive.

- Lawrence

"CP" wrote in message
m...
All:

After carefully choosing a very nice 5ft Japenese maple and taking
delivery of it, our landscaper slightly damaged the tree while moving
it from the pot into the ground. Where a two branch fork exists, the
tree split 1-2 inches right down the middle of the fork. The
landscaper used duct tape to pull the split back together and told us
the tree should heal in a few weeks. If this repair does not work,
the tree will be lost as the two forked brances that I'm describing
are two of three main growths from the tunk.

Is this the right way to repair the split? Is there anything else I
should consider?

Thanks,

Charlie (Boston, MA)

P.S. The reason I ask is because our landscaper was less than honest
that he did the damage, claiming the split was there when he went to
plant it. I don't want to compound his mistake by permanently
damaging our new tree.