Trees: Old Bradford Pear is splitting

Some of the branches have died and the barkon these branches has split. We are talking about a 30 to 40 ft tree. It is a beautiful tree. I cannot aford to hire a professional to save it. Does anyone know what is wrong and what I might use to fix it.

Hi Jcf,
If I remember correctly...don't you live in Ga? We have been thru a terrible drought this summer and this maybe your problem...
I had one as tall and big as yours and was a split trunk and last year a big storm came and split it into...I was going out the front door to get MIL as it split and I cried when I saw it split... but I was thankful when it was over that I was about to pass under the tree to go to MIL"s, if I had been 30 seconds earlier I would have been hurt...needless to say we had to cut it down, cried again :(

Anyway, I noticed when it was dry weather mine would lose some limbs that would dry and died... This could be what is wrong...as for the bark splitting I think it is natural for I noticed mine doing it too...

I planted one a couple yrs ago and it's bark is splitting too but keeping an eye on it!

Hope this helps!

thanks for the info. we have had pretty good rain where i live but this big a tree may need more. i have not been watering it. i will keep an eye on it.

I have heard from many people that bradford pears split as they age. We lost ours after it split off one branch and then the rest came down on our porch. I guess the wood is soft and splits at the crotch of the tree.

Hi again jcf --
That's just what Bradford pears do. Their wood is soft and they have narrow crotches so any strong wind wreaks havoc with 'em. There are about 60 of them on the property I manage and 70% have had some sort of damage. Next time, go for Cleveland Select pear - it's a better choice.

thanks patrick and all. this tree was here when we moved in in 1994. it was only about 8 ft tall then now it is about 30 or so feet tall.

i live in tn. we just had a major storm of hurricane magnitude. my beautiful bradford pear was sawed off by the 100 mph winds. now is looks like a 3 ft tall totem pole. is there anything i can do that would salvage this poor thing, i was just told that if i evened the trunk out from where it broke and cut some notches in the bark it would come back out. what is the truth on this???? please tell me-- i'm freaking out. marilyn

A Bradford Pear is a fast growing tree but the life span of one is only good for 10-12 years if you're lucky to have it for that long; usually around 10-11 years is about the limit for a Bradford.

38134; it's worth a shot. I would go ahead and try it. You may get some young suckers come up next year and may out grow and cover the short stump and you just may have new shoots growing from the stump itself. You might want to consider giving your little tree the sick tree treatment;
Sick tree treatment - aerate the root zone, broadcast ½-1" compost, apply dry molasses or sugar at 5 pounds per 1,000 square feet and lava sand at 80 pounds per 1,000 square feet, mulch with shredded native tree trimmings, and spray foliage at least monthly with Garrett Juice plus garlic tea. Add cornmeal at 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet for additional disease control.


Tree Trunk Damage
To treat any damage to tree trunks, splash on some hydrogen peroxide on the wounds, and then treat the wounds with Tree Trunk Goop. Formula: mix equal amounts of manure compost tea, natural diatomaceous earth and soft rock phosphate. Fireplace ashes can be added or used as a substitute for the phosphate. Reapply if rain or irrigation washes the material off.

Tree Trunk Goop
Mix 1/3 of each in water and paint on trunks: diatomaceous earth, soft rock phosphate, manure compost. Paint onto cuts, borer holes or other injuries on trunks or limbs. Reapply if washed off by rain or irrigation