injured stem? what to do?

[missann]

Hey everyone, I don't know if this is the right forum for this or not, but it seemed to be the one best suited to my question. My apologies if I am wrong.

SO my dog chewed up one of the main woody stems of my Stephanotis aka wedding flower, aka madagascar jasmine, and I don't know how to repair these kinds of things. Is there any kind of wrapping, tape etc that I should use on the stem to keep the remaining fibers moist? Um..I live in the desert in Idaho so we have no humidity in the air if that helps. THANKS GUYS!

[solay]

Can you post a picture? I believe it's a vine and a climber. If a piece broke off and you still have the main plant it should be OK. Just like trimming any other vine. New growth should grow from the left over stalk. i would make a clean angled cut where it was damaged.

A picture of the whole plant and damage would help.

[missann]

I really don't want to cut it because it is one third of the plant. It is a vine/climber. I will try to post a pic tomorrow. Um... I would much rather repair it. It is not so much as missing a piece, as just almost totally chewed and the fibers are all seperated. Think of when you try to pick a flower and the stem gets all chewed up.
I can't believe my dog is so destructive. That is the downfall of owning a plott hound.

[Orchidementia]

I have used gauze - like you'd use to wrap a wound - on a damaged plant (fuchsia, semi-ripened wood). Wrap the damaged area above and below the injury, and splint if possible; keep the bandage damp. If the wound is not fresh, it might not work, but you could try splinting it anyway.

I've also used twist ties to keep separated fibers together until they healed. I sprayed it with the same concentration of food/water that I us to feed it, and it healed fine.

[missann]

Oh thank you so much! I think she chewed it yesterday afternoon, so I will get right on that. I happen to have some sterile guaze that is in my dog first aid kit. (kind of ironic). What kind of fertilizer did you use? Did you use it at full strength? I think I may hold off on the food part just to be on the safe side.

[articuno75]

If you can place the two pieces together the best you can, you can take Elmer's glue mixed with cinnamon to form a bondo like paste that is both antifungal and an antiseptic. I can't remember the mix off hand right now, but I'm pretty sure it's 1 part cinnamon to 3 parts glue. Adding more cinnamon won't hurt.