And interesting abstract (https://physics.aps.org/synopsis-for/10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.255501) talks about how cracks in materials will avoid each-other before connecting. As an electrical engineer I have had the chance to see many electrical trees in dielectric and ferroelectric ceramics.
I have noted that water tress and electrical tress in dielectrics do not reach each other in the shortest path possible. I have noted a similar case the ferroelectric ceramics used in current probes and transformer cores. In the ceramics there are often two electrical trees that do not touch right away.
I have always assumes that the shape of electrical tress had more to do with electrons repealing each other, and impurities in the ceramics/dielectrics for the fractal pattern that electrical trees produce. If that assumption was true then an electrical tree might look more like a lighting bolt than a maple tree.
Just reading the abstract of this article and what little I know about electrical trees. I would guess from this abstract that the crack avoid each-other because as they grow the change the path of greatest stress. Because one side of the crack grew in released the stress in that spot, the other crack headed for place with more stress.
Connecting this article to electrical tress. In a like manner could tunneling through the ceramics/dielectrics revealing the electrical stress at the closest point. This might cause the tree to grow in the direction of the largest electrical stress.
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