East Lothian,
United Kingdom 
I have a fatsia japonica which must be 50+ years old. About 12 feet high, maybe more, leaning slightly because near a wall. Always been healthy but I have noticed there is a 4ft split down the trunk and it is oozing brown sap- not just at the split but in other places. Is there anything I can do to stop it splitting further? I noticed that further down the trunk there is scar which may be the remnants of a previous split. I would be very grateful for any advice. I don't want to get rid of it.
Thanks,
SG
26 May, 2013
Fatsias can get fairly large over time and can be hard pruned, if you look down close at the base you may some young buds ready to break into leaf and some signs of new shoots this is normally the case, try hard pruning beyond these splits, now is a good time to carry this task out, i carried out renovation pruning the other day on a very large wayward fatsia for a client, it has been cut back to within two ft from ground level, plenty of healthy shoots can be seen.
26 May, 2013