Fixing Broken Branches

[Darkhorse]

Haven't had much time lately to post (unfortunate because I haven't had much time for plants either ), but I have finally sucked it up and brought my plants in for the winter.  I brought them in two days ago, and the cats have already knocked over and broken three pots.  Grr....

Fortunately, two out of three of the victims escaped unharmed with their pots taking the majority of the blow from their fall off the table.  Valentine's Day was not so lucky.  Vday landed upside down with the pot on top of her.    She's still alive, but very mangled.  None of the broken branches are wilting, so I know they're still getting an adequate supply of water.  Now, how can I put her back together again?  Isn't there some type of glue used for grafting that might help?  The branches are snapped and hanging but not totally broken off.  I thought about using the glue and staking her up.

Bad kitties......

[helixturnhelix]

Hey Jordan,

I had the same thing happen to my Shockwave, all I ended up doing was wrapping it together with some electrical tape and it seems to have worked.  There is new growth above the break, so I think that in time it should grow and fix itself!  good luck

[davidwood]

I am sure someone will know of the glue you talk about Jordan but if they don't you could do what I did. I have a unknown cv I quite like but last week we had a storm and a heavy hanging basket got blown of and fell right on top of it, a right mess, when i cleared it up I gave it a good prune and used the cut branches to make 4 cuttings, should they all take then I will replace a small hedge with the unknown cv and it will look nice.

[Charlie]

Oooh! Bad week for hibiscus injuries!

The standard way to deal with a broken branch that is still attached and allowing water to pass through is to treat it like a broken arm. Use bamboo or similar as a splint that extends along both sides of the break. Use ribbon or anything else that can be wrapped around the splint so that the broken branch is aligned properly again. If it can be perfectly aligned and held that way it will heal over several weeks.

There is a type of glue that vets have (doctors too I suppose) that can be used instead of stitches. I tried it for grafting in the past but preferred the tried and true rubber band tie so didnt follow up with it. It did work, though.

Good luck with the breaks. At worst they will just become a hard pruning and the plant will grow back better than ever!

Charlie