A few months ago, I toppled a heavy bamboo trunk on top of a small (6') citrus sapling, snapping it completely in half. I basically grafted the broken trunk back in place and wrapped it in tape.
Surprise, it survived and is flourishing.
So my question is, how long should I leave this wrap in place to allow this load-bearing repair to heal? The trunk is about 1/2" in diameter at the break, and the remaining portion weighs maybe 2 lbs. The tree is subject to high winds (typical Florida summer).
This is a 'suck it and see' type thing. If the top of the tree is growing away nicely, and looking healthy, chances are the wound has completely healed. I'd remove the tape, carefully, but have more at the ready. Have a good look at it - if it looks healed, then chance leaving it, but if you're worried at all, reapply more tape. Removing what's there and then replacing will mean the tape hasn't got too tight, which would cause a bulge to develop either side of it as the tree continues to grow. Then remove the tape in, say, 3 months or so, and check again. I'm surprised you didn't need to 'splint' it - last time I did this, I needed a stick to keep the branch join straight. Took about a year before removing the tape and stick completely.
