Fruit Tree Rescue: saving a fruit tree’s broke trunk. Go from :( to :)

Rescue & repair any fruit tree with a broken trunk or limb. Rinse, wrap, seal and prune. The 4 steps we took to rescue a MAJOR split trunk is below.

Use electrical tape, and an extra set of hands helps.

This has funny outtakes at the end. Everyday language is used 😉

Chapter descriptions
00:00 intro
00:43 Intro to our broke / split fruit tree
01:43 step 1: rinse dirt off wound
02:02 step 2: apply a band of electrical tape every ~2-3 inches
05:49 step 3: apply use pruning sealer ONLY because the wound
06:53 step 4: prune limbs
08:42 job done!
10:03 funny outtakes

do this technique for ANY tree.

4 STEPS
step 1: rinse dirt off wound

step 2: apply a band of electrical tape every ~2-3 inches.
** fit the bark & cambium layer back into place. the KEY is to line-up AS MUCH of cambium layer as possible. the cambium layer is the VITAL layer. it’s the green layer you see when you scratch-off bark.
** for our trunk, we started at the bottom and worked our way up. Remove/reduce slack in the bark.
** electrical tape sticks to ITSELF very well but does NOT stick to wood. get the first wrap of tape in-place. make the first wrap as tight as possible and then wrap subsequent wraps OVER the electrical tape. Gently but firmly PULL/STRETCH the electrical tape as u go.

step 3: apply use pruning sealer ONLY because the wound is large.
the benefits of pruning sealant are OVERSTATED. We do NOT use sealant on small wounds or cuts (sorta ;(.

step 4: prune limbs
prune limbs for 4 reasons:
a) reduce the weight of the repaired portion of the tree;
b) reduce the plant’s stress during spring emergence (when roots must ‘feed’ branches and limbs);
c) remove unnecessary limbs (limbs that you’d prune-off anyways); and
d) limbs that snow and wind will affect.
tip pruning is normal but even more important after a repair. ‘tip prune’ means reducing a limb’s length by ~50%.

SEVEN CULTIVARS of Pawpaw growing at HEPPY™
Kentucky Champion
Potomac
Susquehanna
Prolific
Wells
‘Jerry’s Big Girl’, aka, Jerry Lehman 250-30.
Seed of Cultivar

YouTube Playlist on Pawpaw:

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in 2017 I started planting on a 2 acre abandoned property. We’re located only 10 miles south of the US Capitol but are surrounded by several hundred acres of forest and very few homes. Our urban garden design, landscape architecture and permaculture techniques incorporate fruiting trees, fruiting shrubs, edible ground cover, edible flowers, and herbs and medicinal plants that will provide food for generations. It’s a long and slow ‘haul’ as we adapt, learn new things, and are (usually 😉 enjoying the process.

Check us out!: https://heppy.org