Is there anything I can do to save my Japanese maple?

[MummyDoIt]

I have - or rather had - a stunning Japanese maple in my garden. It's the most expensive plant I have ever bought. Cost about £45 five years ago and I've loved it, nurtured it and cared for it and it is absolutely beautiful. Or at least it was until DS1 fell into it this evening and snapped off two of the three large branches. It is now very lopsided and less than half the size it was before. I am heartbroken. It was the pride and joy of my garden and I have repeatedly told the DSs not to play near it. I've stuck the broken off pieces in a bucket of water for now in the vain hope that they might root but I've no idea if this works for maples or trees in general. Anyone any idea? Or is there any way of grafting the broken branches back on? I'm really just a 'dabbler' in the garden and no expert at all.

My mum has tried rooting maples before but had little success. You may need a rooting powder.

I did think it was unlikely to work but worth a try. I just can't bring myself to chuck it straight in the composts bin. He has a whole garden full of plants to fall into and I wouldn't have been bothered about any of the rest of them but he had to pick my pride and joy .

This site - www.floridata.com/ref/A/acer_pal.cfm - suggests you might be able to root a softwood cutting. Rooting in a glass of water works with willows but for an acer I think your best bet is gritty compost (some books say rooting powder is a waste of time but there's no harm in using it, I imagine).

Grafting the broken bits back on won't work. Are they side branches or has the top been broken off? You may find that the shock encourages new growth and the plant evens up again. If not and you can't bear to lose it, could you plant something next to it to obscure the damage?