Hello All,

I was wondering if any of you had some advice for me. I have a plum tree which has split down the middle in a storm last week. Perhaps 60 % of the tree is still upright. The split runs literally straight down the middle of the trunk to the ground level. I think the problem has come about because the previous owner of the house (or even the one before that) left some twine around the tree and the trunk grew around it. One side is lying on the ground but is still alive because the bark is attached. The half which is upright is very stable.

I would like to be able to keep the upright part and am considering cutting the braken part at ground level and painting the tree for protection. Do you think this might work? Is the tree doomed? Can I use bog standard paint? Any other advice?

Thanks for the help

Darren