Halp! I LST'd too hard and broke something. :(

I was recorrecting an LST job I did yesterday (the main cola had rearranged itself above the other high point I had made, so I was re-suppressing it) and accidentally pushed a bit too hard and the main stem broke! About halfway through, and I'm afraid it might go the rest of the way. Doesn't seem to be progressing as it sits there, but will it repair itself and fill the gap that's created? can I tape it or something? What is an effective repair?

Edit: Here is a pic... y'all are saying it will heal, but do I need to actually untrain it and straighten it, splint it, and tape it for it to heal, or will it actually heal up that gap on it's own?

tape it up i will be ok, maybe tape something 2 it for support, i have done this with a plant my cat snapped in half, i didnt think it would pull through but it was as good as new!

Yeah, tape and or stint it and it will be like it never happened.

RDWHABH!

it will be stronger than ever in 4 daysish
i've split a stem WIDE OPEN till you could see its guts
they don't care at all
good luck killing your reefer - it's next to impossible

try super glue it should fix it lol

yeah man just tape it up and ull be fine I've herd some people say that there plants that snap like that even grow better and end up with more tops

Okay cool... so you're saying it will heal... I hear the splinting idea, but I wonder if I need to? Because this is an LST in progress I'd love to just leave it bent as far as the break makes it. The problem is, that leaves a gap, as is seen in the pic. (uploading it now, one sec)

Okay, I added a pic and a blurb to the main post above now. If it will just fill in that gap on it's own I will let it, because I do want it bent way over like that, I just didn't mean to snap it!!

line up the pieces and tape it.
I have often found that it heals itself quickly with no apparent problems.

It works with many plants. A few years ago I was growing giant pumpkins and I broke the main stem of my prize plant, it was only still attached by a few strands of the skin of the vine. I taped it up and that vine produced a 900 pound pumpkin just about 2 feet beyond where it broke.

You can get out and out medieval with LST and the plants just try harder.

And thank you for the quick replies, this site is AWESOME.

Good luck!!

Thanks!

I am hesitant to tape it because of how our bodies need air exposure to heal wounds... are plants the same? Would it be better off open air? The back half of the stem seems to be intact, but I don't know if that's enough or if it will stress out and break off if I don't support it... problem is, the plant is fairly small and the nodes are tight and it's hard to find a place to tape anything up to it really. I could just wrap the break itself, but as I said I am worried about breathing.

Oh, idea. Band aids are designed to breathe, maybe that would be a good idea. hah.

the tape is just to keep it together, i suppose if you could find a way to support it without it moving it will heal. i dont know about leaving it open though.

I think plats breathe through their leaves, not stems. I would treat it like a broken bone. You want to set it a bit and hold it there to allow it to heal the fastest. Go ahead and use a band aid and take it off after 5 days. If you 'set' the stem, I'll bet it will heal in that time.

Much thanks guys!!

yeah i hope you taped it and put a stake down for it by now.... any new pics of progress?

We've just jury-rigged it before with a unused wooden BBQ skewer and some Scotch tape. Good as new in a few days. But don't go apeshit and tape it up too tight, it'll make it hard to remove later.

I taped it with the bandaid and, actually, instead of staking it I LST'd it more carefully farther down the stem so that the cut is laying flat to itself but the plant is still sideways. Kinda like staking, but instead of holding the broken part up, I brought the stem down to meet it.

Here's a shot of the repair work. The original LST was a rubber band... I've replaced that with a metal hook that goes down into the soil. You can see it holding the stem just below the bandaid.

lol a bandaid hey man if it works