I know I know, it's a Bradford pear and they are the devil. And yes it smells terrible in the spring. But it's a 20+ year old tree that's probably pushing 30ft tall, so I'd love to not lose it – we lost an ash 2 years ago and seeing that replaced by the twig that needs a decade to grow hurts!
We haven't had storms for a few days, but have had a lot of rain and several wind storms this summer. Looks like there was some previous damage maybe that finally went. Weird part of the weather has been calm and dry for 3 days and it just dropped out tonight. Just wondering if this thing has a chance of making it a few more years with that much trunk exposed or if it's a lost cause.
by Dizzy-Lead2606
15 Comments
I would recommend a horizontal pruning just above ground level.
That much exposed wood is going to decay decades before that tree can grow over and close off that wound. Add to that the poor branch structure just above the wound. You’ve got an absolute certainty of tree failures in the near future. Remove ASAP.
I’d use wood glue
It could survive 5 to 10 years like this, tho it may lose another trunk, esp as decay accelerates
Nope. Zero. This is normal and you shouldn’t feel bad.
Classic Bradford lmao
20+ years old might as well cut it down the tree is at the end of its lifespan. They grow fast and live short.
It’s done. This is typical of Bradford pear trees, the angles are so acute and the wood so brittle. Make it into firewood, and plant a native tree
How did your dog manage to do this!?
This is the 812^th instance of a Bradford pear failure in the tree subs this year. The current estimate of total Bradford failure posts for 2025: 3,116. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
trim the broken part off, seal the trunk every month with beeswax sealer mix you would use on fruit tree pruning and you should be able to save it for a few years. This type of tree does this a lot and has to be pruned close to lessen it splitting in the crotches.
It isn’t going to die immediately but it will likely not live long term . Clean up & let it go until it dies or becomes ugly & cut it down. Plant some trees now so they can have a head start when this one dies
“Use grafting wax and wrap the entire tree with grafting tape
Bradford pears aren’t good trees anyway