Hey guys! I have a beautiful redbud tree in the front of my property that I'm concerned will split at the trunk and potentially kill the tree if left untreated. This tree gets annual pruning but I'm not sure if that's enough to keep it from splitting. There is a large limb coming off the trunk that looks to be splitting the trunk due to its weight (pictures for reference). Does the whole limb need to go to save the tree? It provides a significant part of the tree and leaf cover, so I'm sad to lose the whole limb, but am willing to let that go to save the tree. Any advice?
by Neat_Carpet_8648
1 Comment
What you have is included bark, essentially it already is split.
I would take a LOT of weight out of the sideways branch. Like more than half, this is pretty severe. You want to train the tree that this branch isn’t going to be a permanent fixture in the canopy so it starts to form a branch bark collar. The goal should be to remove it entirely eventually, but it would be a lot to cut it all out right now