After the snow this winter, some of the branches on our conifers have splayed out. They look very unsightly so I want to tie them back in. Can anyone what I should to use and any other advice. I presume string is no good. Thanks.

ploppygb wrote:

After the snow this winter, some of the branches on our conifers have
splayed out. They look very unsightly so I want to tie them back in.
Can anyone what I should to use and any other advice. I presume string
is no good. Thanks.

we have used wide strips of cloth, but
remember to check them once in a while to
make sure they are not digging in or
causing damage to the tree.


songbird

On Sun, 28 Apr 2013 22:00:35 +0200, ploppygb
wrote:


After the snow this winter, some of the branches on our conifers have
splayed out. They look very unsightly so I want to tie them back in.
Can anyone what I should to use and any other advice. I presume string
is no good.

Which conifers and where? Most conifers come warm weather unless
branches are actually broken will repair themselves.

On 4/28/13 1:00 PM, ploppygb wrote:

After the snow this winter, some of the branches on our conifers have
splayed out. They look very unsightly so I want to tie them back in.
Can anyone what I should to use and any other advice. I presume string
is no good. Thanks.

What kind of conifer?


--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

Well, it's green and about 12ft at the moment! I can't imagine that it will fix itself.

On Mon, 29 Apr 2013 21:34:50 +0200, ploppygb
wrote:


'David E. Ross[_2_ Wrote:
;981999']On 4/28/13 1:00 PM, ploppygb wrote:-

After the snow this winter, some of the branches on our conifers have
splayed out. They look very unsightly so I want to tie them back in.
Can anyone what I should to use and any other advice. I presume string
is no good. Thanks.-

What kind of conifer?

Well, it's green and about 12ft at the moment!

How about you find out what kiind of tree, ask someone. sheesh!

I can't imagine that it will fix itself.

You'd be surprised... so long as the branches are not fractured they
will spring back once the temperature warms and the sap begins to
flow. Most conifer branches are extremely flexible... with the
weight of snow branches can bend significantly and not break... as the
snow falls off the branches will slowly go back to their original
position. And it's best you do absolutely nothing, you cannot help,
any attempt at propping up will make the situation worse... leave the
tree to do its own thing in it's own time. I live in a snow belt,
temperatures often dive to -20º, I have literally thousands of
assorted conifers on my property... used to be a Christmas tree farm,
but is now a mixed forest with mostly conifers. Every winter I watch
the snow weigh down the branches and then when the snow melts/drops
off, and temperatures rise all the trees regain their original
configuration. I also have lots of multi-trunked birch, those trunks
will bend until their tops touch the ground, and lo and behold they
spring back too. With conifers only the very old large trees will
lose branches because they are no longer supple, but your 12' conifer
is very likely just a baby, its limbs will bend like rubber. With
most conifers snow can only accumulate on the branch ends, not near
the trunk... the young branch ends are extremely supple, that's why
they splayed. It's a good sign they splayed, old rigid branches would
break.

Brooklyn1 wrote:
....
You'd be surprised... so long as the branches are not fractured they
will spring back once the temperature warms and the sap begins to
flow. Most conifer branches are extremely flexible... with the
weight of snow branches can bend significantly and not break... as the
snow falls off the branches will slowly go back to their original
position. And it's best you do absolutely nothing, you cannot help,
any attempt at propping up will make the situation worse... leave the
tree to do its own thing in it's own time. I live in a snow belt,
temperatures often dive to -20º, I have literally thousands of
assorted conifers on my property... used to be a Christmas tree farm,
but is now a mixed forest with mostly conifers. Every winter I watch
the snow weigh down the branches and then when the snow melts/drops
off, and temperatures rise all the trees regain their original
configuration. I also have lots of multi-trunked birch, those trunks
will bend until their tops touch the ground, and lo and behold they
spring back too. With conifers only the very old large trees will
lose branches because they are no longer supple, but your 12' conifer
is very likely just a baby, its limbs will bend like rubber. With
most conifers snow can only accumulate on the branch ends, not near
the trunk... the young branch ends are extremely supple, that's why
they splayed. It's a good sign they splayed, old rigid branches would
break.

some of our cedar trees will get bent by
heavy wet snows and not all the branches
will recover.


songbird

Brooklyn1 wrote:
On Mon, 29 Apr 2013 21:34:50 +0200, ploppygb
wrote:


'David E. Ross[_2_ Wrote:
;981999']On 4/28/13 1:00 PM, ploppygb wrote:-

After the snow this winter, some of the branches on our conifers
have splayed out. They look very unsightly so I want to tie them
back in. Can anyone what I should to use and any other advice. I
presume string is no good. Thanks.-

What kind of conifer?

Well, it's green and about 12ft at the moment!

How about you find out what kiind of tree, ask someone. sheesh!


Or provide a picture already.

D

On 4/28/2013 3:00 PM, ploppygb wrote:

After the snow this winter, some of the branches on our conifers have
splayed out. They look very unsightly so I want to tie them back in.
Can anyone what I should to use and any other advice. I presume string
is no good. Thanks.

That's a very common mishap with arborvitae, and in fact is one of
their drawbacks. Depending on the size of the branches, people have
used anything from pantyhose to heavy rope. Whatever you use, it's not
a good idea to wrap or tie it snugly around a branch, since that will
cut into the branch as it grows. I prefer to simply circle two or more
of the affected branches with rope, then tie the ends of the rope
together. That allows the branches some movement in the wind while
still pulling them together (and/or upright, depending on the type of
evergreen) without the risk of the rope cutting into any branches.
Rope will also decay over time, which is a good thing if the branches
eventually assume their natural posture and require no further
support, but a bit of a nuisance if you eventually need to tie them up
again.

I've got some 60+ year old globe arborvitae that have grown so large,
the biggest branches sag under their own weight. Come a heavy wet snow
or a high wind and they'd snap, so I provide support to a couple of
the largest/longest branches with 4 x 4 posts to help maintain the
shrub's general shape.

On 4/29/13 12:34 PM, ploppygb wrote:

'David E. Ross[_2_ Wrote:
;981999']On 4/28/13 1:00 PM, ploppygb wrote:-

After the snow this winter, some of the branches on our conifers have
splayed out. They look very unsightly so I want to tie them back in.
Can anyone what I should to use and any other advice. I presume string
is no good. Thanks.-

What kind of conifer?



Well, it's green and about 12ft at the moment! I can't imagine that it
will fix itself.

I meant: Is it an Italian cypress, red cedar, deodar cedar, fir, Aleppo
pine, podocarpus, arborvitae, blue spruce, juniper, etc, etc?


--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

Sorry it's taken a while, but here's a photo of said conifer. I have tied up the splayed branches with some twine I happened to have. Before that, about 4ft above ground on the right, some branches were splayed out about 90 degrees.

On 5/5/13 9:19 AM, ploppygb wrote:
'David E. Ross[_2_ Wrote:
;982100']On 4/29/13 12:34 PM, ploppygb wrote:-

'David E. Ross[_2_ Wrote: -
;981999']On 4/28/13 1:00 PM, ploppygb wrote:-

After the snow this winter, some of the branches on our conifers have
splayed out. They look very unsightly so I want to tie them back in.
Can anyone what I should to use and any other advice. I presume string
is no good. Thanks.-

What kind of conifer?

-

Well, it's green and about 12ft at the moment! I can't imagine that
it
will fix itself.-

I meant: Is it an Italian cypress, red cedar, deodar cedar, fir,
Aleppo
pine, podocarpus, arborvitae, blue spruce, juniper, etc, etc?



Sorry it's taken a while, but here's a photo of said conifer. I have
tied up the splayed branches with some twine I happened to have. Before
that, about 4ft above ground on the right, some branches were splayed
out about 90 degrees.


+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Filename: Conifer.JPG |
|Download: http://www.gardenbanter.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=15544|
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+




That looks like an Italian cypress (Cupressus semperviruens). It is
quite normal for this to have "splayed" branches.

The usual fix for this is to remove the branches. If you do that,
either leave some live foliage below the cut or else remove the entire
branch to the trunk. A stubbed branch with no remaining live foliage
will die. If you remove an entire branch, the hole in the appearance
will quickly be filled with new growth from the remaining branches.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

ploppygb wrote
....
Sorry it's taken a while, but here's a photo of said conifer. I have
tied up the splayed branches with some twine I happened to have. Before
that, about 4ft above ground on the right, some branches were splayed
out about 90 degrees.


twine is likely too small and sharp and will
cut into the bark. it needs a pad, use old
rags to give the branch some cushion.


songbird

ploppygb wrote

Sorry it's taken a while, but here's a photo of said conifer. I have
tied up the splayed branches with some twine I happened to have. Before
that, about 4ft above ground on the right, some branches were splayed
out about 90 degrees.

Download: http://www.gardenbanter.co.uk/attach...chmentid=15544

By binding that type of conifer like a mummy light will be prevented
from entering the interior and air circulation will also be limited...
you are killing that tree... leave it to its own devices and it will
correct itself at its own pace. The splayed branches will send out
new shoots to fill the gaps, in a short time you'll have a wider
fuller healthier tree... if it's not broken don't fix it.

Thanks for all the responses.

Not convinced it's an Italian cypress. The examples on 'tinternet are much much narrower than this one.

Also, I feel as if the tree is getting a little too big. Ours is a fairly small garden and I'd ideally have a couple of feet taken off the top (btw, I didn't plant it - it came with the house!). Can these be pruned/trimmed? I don't think I'd try it myself, would probably pay someone who knows what they're doing.