I have a 5 year old Victoria Plum tree on my allotment. The single main stem bifurcates at about 1.5M from the ground into two main branches. Over the winter the main trunk has split vertically at this bifurcation for about 10cm. I have fastened it together to stop it going worse by lashing it with a plastic covered rope. Can anyone advise how to perform a more permanent repair.
Many Thanks
Ian L
Split Plum Tree
Moderators: KG Steve, Chantal, Tigger, peter, Chief Spud
hi, looks like youve foxed everyone with this 
the vonly problem i can see with what youve done is that thin rope will in time cut into the branches, also if its forming a tight collar all the way round it may strangle the branch.
you could use half a piece of plastic pipe cut lengthwise on the outside of the branch under the rope to spread the pressure a bit.
the only other possibility to avoid ropes arround the branches is to bore a hole through the trunk to bolt the two halves together , use 12mm threaded bar with spreader plates (either metal or rigid plastic a couple of inches square) both ends under the nuts. in time (years) as the trunk grows thicker it should grow over the nuts and hide them.
you could prune both branches a bit to take some of the weight off whilst the trunk trys to repair the split..
if all else fails as a last resort cut the whole top off just below the split, you should then find that the trunk will throw new shoots from below the cut, which will over several years grow into a useful tree.
ive got some cherry plums that were at least a foot diameter and 30ft tall before i topped them last year . the trunks were left about 5 foot tall and now have several shoots 4 or 5 feet long on each one.
trees are quite resillient and will take qtite a bit of abuse.
the vonly problem i can see with what youve done is that thin rope will in time cut into the branches, also if its forming a tight collar all the way round it may strangle the branch.
you could use half a piece of plastic pipe cut lengthwise on the outside of the branch under the rope to spread the pressure a bit.
the only other possibility to avoid ropes arround the branches is to bore a hole through the trunk to bolt the two halves together , use 12mm threaded bar with spreader plates (either metal or rigid plastic a couple of inches square) both ends under the nuts. in time (years) as the trunk grows thicker it should grow over the nuts and hide them.
you could prune both branches a bit to take some of the weight off whilst the trunk trys to repair the split..
if all else fails as a last resort cut the whole top off just below the split, you should then find that the trunk will throw new shoots from below the cut, which will over several years grow into a useful tree.
ive got some cherry plums that were at least a foot diameter and 30ft tall before i topped them last year . the trunks were left about 5 foot tall and now have several shoots 4 or 5 feet long on each one.
trees are quite resillient and will take qtite a bit of abuse.