Tulip Poplar sapling snapped in half

[Margus]

My tulip poplar sapling ( was 7’ tall) was snapped in half during a storm. I cut the break clean and now I have shoots and leaves growing near the top of the trunk (3’-4’ high).  My question is whether these shoots can grow into a strong trunk going forward or is my tree alive, but unlikely to grow into a strong mature tree.

[Dan Maynard]

They'll be weakly attached at first, because they have started at the surface of the tree. After a few years though they will strengthen as the trunk puts on layers of wood interacting with the shoot wood.

 

I'd be tempted to leave it a couple of years, then each year take one weakest shoot out so that you end up with a single trunk tree. Fairly soon all this will just be a wiggle buried in the trunk timber as the tree grows on up.

[kram]

As above, however it looks like theres a good distance between the shoots and the topped cut. Id perhaps wait until spring to see if it pops any new buds or shoots nearer the top but if not I would prune the stem back to near the top shoot.

 

Possibly an alternative for next time.. trees take grafting very well. Perhaps a clean cut and proper attempt at grafting would have been better than my attempt below:

 

I had a pigeon land on my cherry tree and snapped the top off. It was a good few hours before I'd seen it but I taped it up with a splint. The leaves havent wilted so they are getting nutrients but Im unsure if theres any good cambium connection left. We got a video of pigeon, it was after the last cherry.

 

This was how I taped it up. I removed most of the leaves to lower the water demand.

 

And how it looks a few weeks later with some tape removed. A couple weeks later now and there is a bud starting just between the damaged stem and the original (shop) top cut, not sure if thats a good thing or a sign that the old top is dead. The snap was about an inch above the original top cut.

 

Edited August 2 by kram