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22-03-2004, 06:56 PM

In article , (John Seed) writes:
| My beautiful old Damson Tree broke in the winds over the weekend.
|
| the main trunk is sheared away diagonally about 4ft up with most of
| the tree now on the ground (with bemused hens clucking about it), but
| about 20% of the branches are still on the remaining trunk which I'd
| like to try and save.
|
| Is there anything I should do to help or should I just leave it to
| nature?

Essentially the latter. And read Oliver Rackham for consolation.

If there is plenty of bark connecting the fallen bit to the roots,
it will continue to live; otherwise collect some flowering shoots
for the house and turn the rest into firewood. The intact bit
will live and crop until it, too, crashes to the ground. The
main stem may or may not be hollow by then.

You can attempt to reduce fungal attack to the heartwood, but the
breakage was probably caused by previous fungal attack anyway.
I would attempt that if it clearly wasn't, by smoothing off the
wood and covering with some suitable gunge, but I know of little
evidence that it makes much difference.

Regards,
Nick Maclaren.