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Leaning tree

OlofOlof Posts: 3
in Problem solving
Hi everyone.
We planted a ‘mystree’ bought in an unmarked pot - turned out to be a crabapple, and we love it a lot. We took the stake out last week, after two years. The bottom of the trunk is still lovely and straight but it's almost immediately started to bend towards the sun at the top. 

All the advice I can find suggests we just leave it to sort itself out but perhaps it's one of the trees that needs to be staked forever?

We don't want it to get much taller so will have to get a tree person round before too long to do some intelligent pruning...

Thanks for any words of advice - not sure why the photo (taken in portrait orientation) will only upload in landscape...


Posts

  • KeenOnGreenKeenOnGreen Posts: 1,831
    We have an identical problem with a young Greengage tree, planted 2 years ago. We have removed it's planting stake.

    I don't know what the received wisdom is, but we plant to pull the tree into an upright habit, and to secure it to a vertical stake (not at 45 degrees which you would do for a newly planted tree). We will secure a rubber tree tie around the trunk, and use a short section of rope to go between the tie and the stake. The idea is that the trunk should be able to move around a bit, but still remain straight.

    It's bad practice to tie tree trunks so that they are rigid. The moving around in the wind helps to strengthen the trunk, and the roots develop a stronger structure. This gives a rough idea of what I mean.
  • OlofOlof Posts: 3
    Thank you for sharing your situation!

    Ok, so a new stake with a slightly different function, then? Like you said, @KeenOnGreen, the original stake was at 45 degrees, with the tree secured fairly firmly (although still with a bit of wiggle room) with a rubber tree tie. And now you suggest driving in a new vertical stake, and re-fastening the tree, still with a bit of give? 

    We'll maybe try that, but I've read a lot that suggests that trees won't create their own strong root system if they're staked in any way... Tricky!
  • KeenOnGreenKeenOnGreen Posts: 1,831
    @Olof It's standard practice to stake newly planted trees, for about 2 years. If you don't, the upper parts of the tree rock around in high winds, and this can rock the roots so much that it rips the tree out of the ground. In my experience, if staked properly, trees do create a strong root system.

    The trick is to allow as much natural movement as possible of the upper trunk and branches. It's the lower half of the trunk in which you want to reduce movement, but not so that it is completely rigid. 

    Thousands of gardeners have been staking their trees for a very long time, so it must work.

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Staking also depends on the tree itself, and the location. If you plant something around five feet in an exposed site with no staking, it'll just end up at forty five degrees, if it stays in an upright position at all. 
    Plant the same tree in a sheltered site in a town garden and it might be fine without a stake at all. 
    It's why small saplings are planted in exposed sites, and anything bigger in the same kind of location gets a double stake put in a different way from the normal procedure.  :)

    The current thinking is a stake low down - fixed at about a third of the height of the tree, at a 45 degree angle, facing into the prevailing wind. That means the top can move in that wind, but the root system is secure. That's basically what @KeenOnGreen is describing, and it suits most trees. 
    I think you'd have to do as he describes re another stake to get it back into a vertical position. It's clearly wanting more light than it's currently getting   :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • BenCottoBenCotto Posts: 4,718

    Rutland, England
  • OlofOlof Posts: 3
    Fairygirl said:
    Staking also depends on the tree itself, and the location. If you plant something around five feet in an exposed site with no staking, it'll just end up at forty five degrees, if it stays in an upright position at all. 
    Plant the same tree in a sheltered site in a town garden and it might be fine without a stake at all. 
    It's why small saplings are planted in exposed sites, and anything bigger in the same kind of location gets a double stake put in a different way from the normal procedure.  :)

    The current thinking is a stake low down - fixed at about a third of the height of the tree, at a 45 degree angle, facing into the prevailing wind. That means the top can move in that wind, but the root system is secure. That's basically what @KeenOnGreen is describing, and it suits most trees. 
    I think you'd have to do as he describes re another stake to get it back into a vertical position. It's clearly wanting more light than it's currently getting   :)
    Thank you! In response to your first paragraph - the tree is in a sheltered site in an urban garden, but is definitely leaning now that we've taken the stake out! We had it staked just as you and @KeenOnGreen described for 2 years (45 degree angle into the prevailing wind). I guess we'll try the vertical stake next for a year or so, and see what happens! 

  • KeenOnGreenKeenOnGreen Posts: 1,831
    Good luck @Olof If it makes you feel any better, our Greengage tree is at a much worse angle, so we can compare notes in a year or so!
      
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