Your favorite tree can lose its limbs due to bad weather, accidental damage, disease, and other reasons. Any of those scenarios will leave you full of questions. For instance, will the entire tree die? Do tree limbs grow back?

As the leading tree service specialists in Reston, VA, the Dos Amigos Tree Experts team has heard many of these questions. We’ll focus on just one in this post. Will tree branches regrow? Not really, at least not in the way you might expect.

We’ll cover the details below.

Tree Limbs Don’t Actually Regenerate

It may sound reasonable to expect severed tree limbs to grow back just like the tail of a lizard, or even some human body parts can regrow. However, human or animal tissue is different.

When a healthy tree loses a healthy branch, it will respond by forming a callous-like growth over the cut area or the wound site (like the scab on wounds for animals and humans). The growth protects the rest of the tree from infection and decay so a severed limb shouldn’t cause your tree to die.

So, that exact branch will never regrow. However, the tree will channel resources to one of the healthy buds around the lost limb to grow a new limb. Where none exists, the new limb will likely grow elsewhere.

So, do tree limbs grow back? No. What you’ll get is a new limb growing from scratch. If your favorite tree lost a limb due to weather damage or an accident, you can just wait for a new one to grow as long as the rest of the tree is still structurally sound.

What About Pruning? Do Branches Redevelop?

The answer is the same for both accidental growth and pruning. A properly pruned limb will not regrow. Professional tree technicians who understand tree branches renewing process adhere to proper pruning techniques to allow new limbs to grow efficiently elsewhere on the tree.

Poor practices like tree topping can weaken the tree, hinder its food production process, and make it susceptible to diseases and pests.

What You Can Do to Boost Tree Limb Regrowth Potential

If you understand the limb regenerative capabilities of most trees, you’ll understand that yours won’t need your intervention if it’s healthy. However, it doesn’t hurt to give it a little boost to help the new limb mature faster. Some of the things you can do include the following:

• Additional watering. A tree that has recently lost a few limbs may struggle with processing water from the soil and making food naturally. Supplemental watering can help ensure it remains hydrated, especially in the summer months.
• Fertilization. Adding a slow-release fertilizer to the soil can give your tree the nutrients it needs to recover.
• Mulching. Proper mulching can help regulate soil temperature and prevent competition from weeds. A one- or two-inch layer of mulch around the base of the tree can have great benefits.

Keep in mind that these tips above work best for young trees that are clearly still growing. If the tree is a multi-decade-old tree, you really don’t need to do anything.

Consult Your Local ISA Certified Arborist in Reston, VA

Can tree limbs regenerate? No. Do tree limbs grow back? Not exactly. But you’ll likely get a new limb growing somewhere else on the tree. Do you need further guidance on the health of your tree? Maybe you have some concerns about how the tree now looks after losing a limb.

Our highly experienced team can provide personalized guidance, including how to reroot a tree branch.

Call Dos Amigos Tree Experts in Reston, VA, today at (703) 300-6103 to schedule an appointment.