A branch of the damson tree is broken

[Bramble_killer]

It's got lots of fruit on it and I have no idea if the best thing to do is to leave the branch (hanging on by a bit) to the tree or to saw it off and to try and ripen the damsons in the house (see pic attached).

How would you ripen damsons in the house?

(also, think they are damsons, the tree came with the house and it said plums but they haven't really turned dark purple....)

[rustylady]

OUCH - that branch is really broken, I was hoping for your sake that it wasn't quite that bad. I would remove it from the break. Leave the fruit on the bit you remove and try and hang the whole thing somewhere till the fruit ripen. Shouldn't be too long, I was picking Victoria plums middle of August last year and hopefully the branch and foliage may sustain the fruit long enough. Make sure you clean up the area where the branch has broken away from the main tree

[rustylady]

(also, think they are damsons, the tree came with the house and it said plums but they haven't really turned dark purple....)

Not all plums are purple - mine are Victoria and they're a sort of yellowy/red or reddy/yellow when ripe

[FB.]

My Victoria broke a branch several weeks ago. It still had half of the bark intact on the underside, so there was a fair chance that sapflow could continue to keep the branch alive for a few months more. So I supported the branch.
The branch is still alive and the fruits have developed normally.
The fruits are almost ripe now. I will remove the broken branch as soon as the fruits are picked.

[Bramble_killer]

Thanks both , we're leaving it for now and seeing if the good weather (ha ha) will ripen them soon and pick them off.


Any way of telling whether it's a plum or a damson?

[lottie dolly]

damsons are a lot smaller than plums,and are dark plum colour,damzeen's{spelling}are refered to as plums,and are the same colour but bigger,and victoria plums are bigger still,have a look on google and see if you can find some pictures,

[swampy]

couldn't you make a splint for the branch from an old broomhandle and a length of rope?
I tried this on my mum's pear tree years ago when it broke a branch and it healed well. Just support the branch beyond the repair on a 'crutch' to take the weight.

[WrexTheDragon]

I have branches breaking every year. The fruit will become ripe after a week in the house. Now is the best time to prune the tree, so you need to make sure that the break has been sawn clean so that you don't get rot into the tree.
My tree is getting smaller by the years, but still produces too much fruit.

[Madasafish]

A branch broke on our pear tree.. I splinted it with wood and wire and propped it up to keep the weight off the broken joint.

5 years later it is still broken, still propped up and still bearing pears..:-)