University of Florida

Home > Pruning shade trees > Restoration pruning > Treating damaged and broken trees Codominant stem splits from tree

Codominant stem splits from tree

codominant branch split

This American elm lost half the tree when one side split from the other. The cause of the failure was the codominant stem.

Treatment: The remaining side should be reduced to help distribute the weight more evenly toward the center of the remaining tree. Pedestrians should not be encouraged to sit near this tree.