Can this tree be saved

antix80

I got my back garden cleared of bushes and briars but had a tree i wanted to save.
After removing a dead tree beside it and years of ivy, what's left resembles a match stick.
Ideally I'd like the leafy bit to be 15 ft lower, but even if that middle branch took hold im wondering would it still look daft. Am I better off cutting it down and planting a new tree?

Reckless Abandonment

I can't make out what type of tree it is. If you could get a closer pic it could help. Some tree will send out new branches (back budding) some wont. But it also depends on the final look your going for.

antix80

I think it's white lilac. Flowers are dead now so it's hard to make out

looksee

Given that there is an enormous tree behind, the bit of foliage at the top is not achieving much. Unless the flowers were spectacular I would take it out.

If it is lilac it might sprout further down now it has been released from bondage. You could just leave it and put some shrubs around it.

You could cut it right down and see if it re-sprouts from ground level - it might well if it is lilac, or it might die, depending on its condition.

Or you could remove it completely. Then get some flowering shrubs that will disguise the wall a bit and let them fill the space.

antix80

Hard to reach the top but i might give it a haircut in the hopes it spouts from the middle.
There are trees behind it but there's 2 walls and an alleyway between them.
The garden is bare. Going to get rollout grass (turf grass). I was hoping to put some shrubs around the lilac alright but it would be nice to get it nice and bushy

Jim_Hodge

Being lilac it should throw out suckers. Let a couple grow and then take the tree away.

jaffa20

I think i already see a sucker near the base. I'd cut it down to base if it was me and it should grow from that.

standardg60

Not sure what all this cutting down advice is about. Leave it alone and see what it does over the season.
Most lilacs are grafted so sucker growth is of no use whatsoever.

antix80

Well, every leaf on the tree died. I used a tiny saw to cut it in the middle and hung a bird feeder on what's left. Might give it another season before chopping the rest.

Well.. Some background. My dad murdered the tree. He was doing a good deed by clearing ivy etc from the walls and the tre, but then went nuts. Chopped off 8 branches at between 1ft and 10ft tall. He insisted they were dead, I'm not so sure but one things for sure-it's dead now.

Rip tree.

Treehelpplease

The plant in front of it will grow really big so it could be nice to keep the deadwood. I'd give it another season to see if itll grow again or not

antix80

Treehelpplease wrote: »

The plant in front of it will grow really big so it could be nice to keep the deadwood. I'd give it another season to see if itll grow again or not

That plant will cover the ugly part of the stump at least but ideally the tree will recover and sprout a branch or two. Birds love the feeder but hop to my neighbours tree for cover. It's fun watching them.. They queue up on the wall and wait their turn

Treehelpplease

I mean the plant will grow tall. I have one of those in a pot. It was heavily pruned back this spring and has since exploded. It is 3 foot tall by 3 foot wide. It recently fell over and smashed its old pot as it had gotten too top heavy. on inspection the roots were taking up every free space in the pot. It is continuing to grow bigger in the new bigger pot, Its around a year or two old and only in sun for half of the day

As i said the one i have was heavily pruned back in the spring and has come back just as strong, its just finishing up flowering now. I have seen them used in big bushes in areas around me. Maybe you could prune it so its not as tall and just act as a nice centrepiece around the tree. Make sure it doesn't grow too close to the base, it might take away water and whatnot from the base of the tree. I think looking at that tree its dead, but it could regrow you never know. It probably won't shoot out big branches but instead loads of small shoots, kind of like the one at the top im guessing.

DrGreenThumb82

Sorry to hijack but just a quick question. I planted a new liquid amber 2 months ago. About 6 feet tall.

Last night in the storm it split at the base and came down. Vertical split just above ground level. I'm raging as it is a beautiful healthy tree and was growing vigorously.

I righted the tree, taped it at the base and did my best to secure it. The split was very clean but if is right down the centre for a couple of inches.

Is it banjaxed or will it be able to recover?

Treehelpplease

Can you post a picture? Liquid Ambers are great trees so it's a shame to hear that If you only planted it two months ago, I'd say dig it up and put in a new one of the same height. the best time of the year to plant trees is november-march so maybe that might have weakened the roots and caused a split. Although idk if it would have lasted two months healthy looking if that was the case

DrGreenThumb82

Treehelpplease wrote: »

Can you post a picture? Liquid Ambers are great trees so it's a shame to hear that If you only planted it two months ago, I'd say dig it up and put in a new one of the same height. the best time of the year to plant trees is november-march so maybe that might have weakened the roots and caused a split. Although idk if it would have lasted two months healthy looking if that was the case

I have it all taped up now. It grew vigorously since planting, very healthy. I'm raging.

Dempo1

There's definitely life left in the tree and the fact you've cleared around will help it get more light and breath, there's also growth at the base, I would not advise any more trimming, very bad time to be doing this with trees, normally a winter taskwhen dormant, so I'd leave it be, it will come back

wildwillow

DrGreenThumb82 wrote: »

Sorry to hijack but just a quick question. I planted a new liquid amber 2 months ago. About 6 feet tall.

Last night in the storm it split at the base and came down. Vertical split just above ground level. I'm raging as it is a beautiful healthy tree and was growing vigorously.

I righted the tree, taped it at the base and did my best to secure it. The split was very clean but if is right down the centre for a couple of inches.

Is it banjaxed or will it be able to recover?

Worth a try taping it up but not excluding air completely from the bark. You have nothing to lose.

There are a good few sites giving details if you search for saving a split tree.

I hope you have the space to let it grow or be sure to keep it pruned if necessary.

looksee

What have you taped it with? I did the same job on a wisteria that had split at a major branch (I had to unwind it from its support), I would have lost half of the fairly mature tree/shrub. I bound it with soft string, neatly and taking in the entire split. Then took the weight of the branches off the split by tying them together with a length of soft cloth. It joined up again and 12 months on is fine. I left the string on for most of that 12 months. Does it have a support post? They are usually intended to stop root rock, but I would give a good length of the stem support for the next while.

DrGreenThumb82

looksee wrote: »

What have you taped it with? I did the same job on a wisteria that had split at a major branch (I had to unwind it from its support), I would have lost half of the fairly mature tree/shrub. I bound it with soft string, neatly and taking in the entire split. Then took the weight of the branches off the split by tying them together with a length of soft cloth. It joined up again and 12 months on is fine. I left the string on for most of that 12 months. Does it have a support post? They are usually intended to stop root rock, but I would give a good length of the stem support for the next while.

It's secured to a post (wasn't enough) and taped up at the bottom with just some stuff I had lying around. Quick job go be honest. I'm not too hopeful about it 😔

Treehelpplease

Thats interesting to know you can save a split tree! Makes sense. There is a very big mature tree near me that had a huge branch fall off a few months ago. Since the tree is on a slope the branch didn't fall far, it kinda went from diagonal to the tree to straight out. and while theres a big crack there is a decent amount still attatched on. None of the leaves have fallen off so I was wondering if maybe it was still alive

Treehelpplease

DrGreenThumb82 wrote: »

It's secured to a post (wasn't enough) and taped up at the bottom with just some stuff I had lying around. Quick job go be honest. I'm not too hopeful about it 😔

clearly i was wrong and you shouldnt jump the gun, but at least youve only had it for two months. if you replaced it in november, by next summer you wouldnt notice any difference

DrGreenThumb82

This is the liquid amber. The split runs about 7 inches up the centre of the trunk from the base.

looksee

Yes that's probably as good as you will get it. It just needs the two sides of the split to sit tight together, and really, hope for the best. I'd take it off this time next year and just give it extra support for another year. You don't want the ties to grow into the bark.

i57dwun4yb1pt8

trees next to wall can a bad idea, they will undermine the wall and wreck it

DrGreenThumb82

Edison Sparse Tarantula wrote: »

trees next to wall can a bad idea, they will undermine the wall and wreck it

It's a good bit from the wall. I have several huge trees beside walls and all are fine.

standardg60

It might be ok but you really need to stake it properly, the stake is far too high and if it's already blown over it's nowhere near deep enough. It should be only about 1 metre high. If you can't hammer it in enough vertically then take it out and put it in at a 45 degree angle facing into the prevailing wind.

New Home

Also, some grafting glue (or whatever it's called) would be useful to cover the side gaps on the bark before you wrap the string around it it. Bind it tightly, like you would for a graft.