HELP Broken/Scraped Weeping Cherry !!

Hi Everyone,

I have a problem actually my cousin has a problem, Saturday she had a jewelry party at her house and when one of the girls left she ran into her Weeping Cherry Tree, it didn't break it but it did bend it and scraped alot of the bark off and broke a branch not all the way off but kinda just hanging on. My question is what do you guys think she should do, I have seen alot of stuff onlne wrap it don't wrap it, The branch that is hanging should she just cut it off or can it be saved? It is a main branch on the tree. The tree is about 6' and the base is about 3" in diameter at the trunk. What saddens her the most is her 2 daughters scrapped their money tohether and bought it for her on mothers day and I can't remember if it was last year or the year before. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks,
Mindy

Please post a photo. Sadly, my gut tells me this is the beginning of the end of that tree regardless of what she does. The tree could rebound from having been bent but the scraping off of a lot of the bark is going to be a major cause for concern. I would say spray a pruner with Lysol or dip it in a mild solution of bleach and then remove the hanging branch but do not wrap the tree trunk and to not apply anything to the tree. There will probably be those who disagree with me.

I have to work until 9 tonight so I will stop tomorrow morning take a picture and post when I get home tomorrow night.
Thanks

I'm not so pessimistic. Please post a picture. I think the one branch is probably doomed, but maybe not the whole tree. If it was only planted last year or the year before, it is probably small enough and not established enough to recover. Heartwood rot, however, is a problem with cherries, so a lot will depend on how badly damaged the bark is and how well it scars over.'

Scott

You need to look at the tree and see if it's a grafted tree. I had a weeping cherry tree, purely ornamental tree, and the weeping cherry is grafted onto another root stock.

Here are the pictures.
I have no idea what to look for to see if it is graftedor not.
Thanks!!

another one
The tree is almost 2 years old

another

This is the limb

Doesn't look too bad to me. I would leave the damage to the bark alone. Hopefully, it will scar over before rot can set in. Even if rot does invace the tree's core, this is not a death sentence. A lot of cherry trees grow a long time with a hollow center.

Here is what I would do. I would kill a good eight or ten foot circle of grass around it with Roundup (being carefull not to get any on the tree's bark). Then I would give the tree a nice 2 1/2 inches of mulch on top of that circle. I would give the tree a little 10-10-10 in the spring just to boost its growth a little bit, and see to it that it gets an inch of water per week through the season.

Good luck.

Scott

other side of limb

Do you think she should cut the limb off, its kinda hanging but it's quite a large limb so it will be pretty lopsided.

This is a view of the whole tree. It does stand about 5-6' tall

Yes, definitely cut off the limb.

Scott

Thanks a bunch Scott and everyone else !!

I agree. Good chance the tree will make it. Cut off the limb. But I don't agree about the Roundup. Yes, the grass is too close to the tree. But since you can kill the grass without using harmful substances, why take the chance of having Roundup so near a stressed tree? Instead, put down 6 layers of wet newspaper (no glossy inserts, obviously) on top of the grass, then cover the newspaper with mulch, tapering down from 3 inches worth of mulch at the endges to none touching the tree. Water like Scott says. Next: keep cars away from tree.

Hmmmm...absolutely no sign of a driveway near that tree.....jewelry party......damaged AFTER the party ended......woooohoooo!!! I wanna party with the woman who hit the tree!

Oh, and I agree about cutting off the limb, leave the trunk alone, and things will get better in time. Do the Roundup or the newspaper and mulch away.

OK Scott I need you to work in my veterinary practice. Your optimism is contagious. LOL I think that anytime you can give a nursery more money America is stronger. I feel Hairgirl that you would have a better chance in starting a new tree and you wouldn't have to see the cherry suffer. We veterinarians are able to stop suffering and the only hope for that cherry is a good bark trim and a good white cross driven in the soil by the person who murdered your tree. She would probably be willing to replace it rather than her husband knowing how much she spent at the jewelry party.

Pessimist here- I don't think that tree is long for this world even if you cut off that limb and reduce the competition around the base. The third photo you posted doesn't look promising at all to me. I am not an arborist like some of the people here but this is an area where I have a lot of experience. I have this wonderful husband who routinely mutilates my trees with the riding lawn mower. He backs up and.... ooops. He looks up at a flock of geese passing overhead and... ooops. He yells at a kid doing who knows what and... ooops. He was deadly with the weed whacker too. I took it away from him. So far I only have one out there that he drove over that is alive and the damage on that tree was about 50% of what you photographed.

Sounds like an interesting jewelry party. I take it adult beverages were served ;)

Tree looks perfectly fine to me. A little TLC and in a year or two, you'll never even know it had been hit. I wouldn't cut it down, no way. (I'm sentimental like that.)

Joulz your heart is huge and anyone who makes this tree live is my hero! I always go to the nursery and save trees that are dying and plant them in my garden. you artists are Gods gift to perspective and hope. Thank you.