Broke juniper

[brentwood]

I left a young juniper in the ground to grow, but i wired main branch, wanted to bend it more, lower. Originally like a Y, now more like a L. Problem is that the tree tried to split at the intersection - all I could think to do was wrap that section tight with raffa - is that enough?
No plans for it ready of year, that enough to heal up? Consider breaking it more now, fattening up the trunk??
Thanks!
Brent

 

[Colorado]

You’ll get more (and more helpful) replies if you include photos.

The visual aid helps clarify what happened and what you’re asking about.

 

[amatbrewer]

In addition to Colorado's reply, there is a current discussion on the use of gorilla glue and other methods of addressing this sort of thing.
I think if you search BN for "broken branch", "glue", "Gorilla glue", or "Super glue" you will probably find a lot of information on this topic.

 

[0soyoung]

wrap that section tight with raffa - is that enough?

The issue, IMHO, is that exposed cambium will desiccate and die back, which means it must grow further to 'heal' the wound. Raffia is nfg for this purpose. Wrap it with plastic wrap (saran) or some kind of putty, and leave it in place for 2 - 3 weeks. Wood glues (Gorilla, Elmer's, as examples) will also work, but I think they will interfere with 'healing' across the break. Lastly, I'll mention that even a wad of damp sphagnum over the break will do the job if it can be kept in place over the break and kept damp for 2 - 3 weeks.

The important thing is that you apply this covering immediately and that it is stabilized so that it won't break further.

 

[brentwood]

The issue, IMHO, is that exposed cambium will desiccate and die back, which means it must grow further to 'heal' the wound. Raffia is nfg for this purpose. Wrap it with plastic wrap (saran) or some kind of putty, and leave it in place for 2 - 3 weeks. Wood glues (Gorilla, Elmer's, as examples) will also work, but I think they will interfere with 'healing' across the break. Lastly, I'll mention that even a wad of damp sphagnum over the break will do the job if it can be kept in place over the break and kept damp for 2 - 3 weeks.

The important thing is that you apply this covering immediately and that it is stabilized so that it won't break further.

Oh, ok - I thought being closed was enough, will get pics and something more airtight on it. I wondered about wound paste, but most threads I saw did not mention that

B

 

[Shibui]

Another issue to consider - tree growing in the ground will thicken fast. The wrapped area cannot expand and it is likely you'll end up with a compressed section (reverse taper) unless you remove the raffia before the trunk thickens below and above. In my experience that's not actually long enough for the wound to unite so it may still not have healed over. Airtight wrap should help in that regard.
It would be worth considering other alternatives like removing one of the broken parts. Without a pic it is hard to say but I suspect this will be 2 branches almost the same thickness - not really good to have a branch as thick as the trunk.
When ground growing trees of any sort concentrate on trunks first then branches later. I've found that nearly all existing branches will be removed from ground grown trunks because they will be too thick and too straight for any good bonsai design.

 

[brentwood]

I amended the repair, put wet peat into the wrapping, wrapped the area with cellophane. I'll keep spraying that area, been raining, more coming - how that helps.
Sounds like the Rafa is a short term thing?
B