Topic: Branch fallen off plum tree...

[Magnolia]

Hi there, A large branch, third of the tree, has snapped off at the base of the trunk.  Will the tear in the trunk be ok or should I treat it with something?  J.

[cleo]

Was it a `Victoria`?

I ask as it`s very heavy cropping and often needs to have the fruits thinned to prevent just that.

Just tidy up the wound and all should be OK

[Magnolia]

Thanks for your reply Cleo.  No idea what sort it is as it came with the plot.  The plums are yellow and sweet.  The tree is quite tall so we can't reach a lot of the fruit, will prune it right back in the autumn.

[Robert_Brenchley]

It's a known problem with plums, due to the weight of fruit they sometimes carry. Another time, I should try to thin the crop a bit. A healthy tree should heal up without problems.

[saddad]

There is one on a bottom allotment next to mine that has thrown major branches three times in the last decade and it's still going strong...  :)

[twave]

This happened to our plum tree the year after we planted it. It was heavy with fruit and there were strong winds which tore off the main branch.

As Cleo says, we just cleaned up the wound and three years later it's doing fine. We've trained ours up a wall and tied it into wires now. The wind is doing a pretty good job of thinning fruit for us and so far we've had no further problems.