Atlas Cedar disaster :(

[Birchbark]

Hey folks! I am very sorry (and embarrassed) to say that ive snapped the trunk of my blue atlas cedar clean off. It all happened so fast! With no warning and no cracking sound. Needless to say i was devastated.

I just wanted to see if there was anything i could do it save it or if anyone had any ideas. I dont suppose reattaching it will be possible since the cambium is fully detached, but could i take cuttings? Stick the broken bit in water and hope it roots?

Also is there any chance the stump left over will bud again?

 

[Birchbark]

Photos now attached

 

[yashu]

Ouch… is there no foliage left on the bottom half of the break? If there is a branch or two remaining then you could possibly graft foliage from the top half to the bottom but I dont know if there would be any chance of the grafts taking if the root stock has no foliage whatsoever. I don’t know if cedar will sprout from a stump, it seems unlikely but perhaps someone with experience will chime in.

Sorry about that break, that’s a tough one. It looks like you really needed some much heavier wire and the raffia wrapped tighter.

 

[Colorado]

Nope, there’s no re-attaching that. sorry for the loss!

 

[MichaelS]

Photos now attached

Running a couple of heavy wires on the outside of the curve longitudinally for the entre length before coiling your wires (but after the raffia) would go a long way in preventing this.
Bad luck. Time to get a new one!

 

[Potawatomi13]

Get rid of wire and wrapping, see what transpires.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

A tip for next time is to wrap the raffia in an angle, just like your wire. This helps to distribute the forces over the length instead of the width of the trunk.

You could try to wedge graft it. If that works, that means you can never bend it in that spot again.

 

[Shibui]

Cedar are considered very difficult to root as cuttings.
Rarely sprout new buds on old, bare wood.

 

[ShimpakuBonsai]

What type of wire did you use?
It looks like copper insallation wire to me.

If you bend a trunk or branche the wire should be on the outside of the curve to support the bend.
It looks like the trunk was bend between two coils of the wire.

 

[penumbra]

Lots of advice after the fact, but lesson learned.
I did have a Blue Atlas that budded on bare wood when the top died. Unfortunately the bud grew little and died about a month later. Still, I was surprised to see that bud.
Yeah, your not going to be about to root that thing, sorry.

 

[BobbyLane]

Get another one.

 

[Zac]

Man that sucks. Don't have much experience I'm fairly new to bonsai and have no experience with this species but I say try what you want. I'm mean if you try rooting or grafting or try to get stump to bud new growth and it doesn't work well your no worst off but if it does work you have your tree back and have learned and advanced your skills. Best of luck

 

[Paradox]

This looks like a pretty extreme bend was being attempted here. Not enough support for the bend.

The wire used is too small for the size of the trunk even with the 3x application. A couple of "back bone" supporting wires would have been required as stated above. Was the raffia wet or dry? Should be applied wet and the bend done while still wet.


A complete break cant be saved and even a bad crack would be tough to deal with considering that bend.
Lesson learned though. Try again

 

[rockm]

This will sound sanctimonious and horrible, but it is what it is... This is sometimes the result of pushing ahead with things you don't have experience with. Sometimes complete failure is the result. Sometimes not. Both results teach things. Failure always teaches more than success.

Now you've learned that making big bends in trunks is not an easy thing to do and requires some detailed prep, an understanding of the why and the details of what you're doing. Bends that aggressive require thought and an understanding of raffia's role and wiring skills. The note on the diagonal wrap is apt, as are the remarks about wire on the outside of curves, reinforcing wire, etc.

FWIW, practicing on a "practice" branch can go a long way in preventing this. Saw off a similar sized branch off a nearby tree, wire it, bend IT...yes, takes up resources, but doesn't end the tree's life.