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[Steve <SDW12986@aol.com>]

Hi Bill,
From what I'm picturing, here's what I would do. I would not cut that 
entire huge branch off... yet. I would cut most of it off leaving the 
base and one or two small side branches. If you cut it all off now, it 
will be a huge defect that the small remaining trunk will have a hard 
time healing.
Wrap the split part tightly and hope it will grow back together. Maybe 
use a little grafting wax or compound at the top to water proof it a 
bit. Keep the remains of the branch alive as that will help the area 
heal. Prune it like crazy for a couple of years so that branch doesn't 
increase much in diameter. In a couple of years, the trunk will be much 
bigger in diameter than the branch and you can then saw it off 
completely. It should heal over nicely then.
Watch for other branches forming narrow crotch angles and either cut 
them off or correct them early.

Steve



billg@inebraska.com wrote:

> Well, I did it again. This is really dumb, but I suppose I'd better 
> 'fess up. I planted an Illinois Everbearing Mulberry this past spring, 
> and it has grown like a weed. It was just a twig when I planted it, but 
> now it's about twelve feet tall with a trunk maybe three inches in 
> diameter at the base. OK, it's raining, so I'm just guessing, but the 
> point is that it's really grown surprisingly big in just a few short 
> months, even though I tried to do a little summer pruning (not much, 
> since I'd just planted it).
>
> It doesn't have too many branches, and those it does have tend to be 
> very long - even summer pruning didn't seem to stop them from extending 
> further. But one branch (the only one it had when I planted it) is 
> really huge. In fact, it's bigger in diameter than the main trunk that 
> rises above it. And it has a narrow crotch angle, though I've been 
> trying to gently correct that. Yup, you guessed it,... except that I 
> didn't snap the branch off (it was too big for that), I ended up 
> splitting the main trunk of the tree in half (for about three or four 
> inches below this branch).
>
> Have I killed the tree completely? I tied it up again right away - 
> cursing my stupidity all the while - but I doubt this will work. Since 
> the split is from the top down, I suppose it's almost certain to get 
> moisture in it this winter, which will then freeze and pry it open. (We 
> usually have fairly dry winters, but not completely so.) Whatever 
> happens, I imagine that this branch will have to go, right? But should I 
> cut it off now, or wait until my normal late-winter pruning?
>
> This is going to make a horrible mess of the tree, whatever I do. But 
> maybe it will still survive. And actually, I'd like the tree to stay 
> small and bushy,... which is definitely NOT what it wants to do. I'd 
> appreciate some suggestions. Do I let it go until spring or prune now? 
> And how much? Do I cut off the whole branch, or maybe remove the split 
> side of the trunk, too? Since the trunk is fairly small ABOVE this 
> branch, the lower trunk is really split in half. It's just disgusting.
>
> I hadn't planned to keep most of the other branches on the tree. One is 
> too low, and most of the others are higher than I'd like (next spring, I 
> plan to prune the trunk below them to encourage more branching). But 
> this branch was perfect, except for the narrow crotch angle,... and 
> being so big it nearly overwhelms the tree.
>
> Incidentally, there are a half-dozen green mulberries on the tree, which 
> I thought was kind of funny for October. I've left them alone, since I 
> figured they wouldn't take much energy from such a huge tree. Now, 
> though, might be a different story.
>
> Bill
> Lincoln, NE (zone 5)
>
>