Tree slanted after storm

Fern Bench

I have a liquidamber tree which is amazing at this time of year. It is planted six years, growing well and looking great. When I planted it initially I removed the staking after one year, but found that it moved quickly to a slant after a bit of wind. I attached a cable to straighten it and it was fine again.

Over the last few years I checked the cable and readjusted it where necessary. After the wind this week I notice that the cable had snapped and the tree is again slanted at about 10 degrees in the direction of the prevailing wind. This was disappointing to say the least.

I am tempted to stop tying it let it strengthen itself, but I am afraid it might blow right over altogether, and that would be devastating.

I'm pretty sure it will be fine again if I reattach the cable, but do I have to keep doing this for years, or even forever? Is the support stopping it from developing its own support?

Your thoughts?

The Continental Op

Best start again. I've had similar issues in the past and when I worked commercially there were some sites were we were still restaking some trees 10 years after they had first been planted. Got rid of a couple at home this year a lovely Holly Oak that I'd guyed for the last 8 years. Finally gave up in the spring. However I've also some pines that went over and I left them and they have made some interesting looking trees, but not to everyone taste.

looksee

I bought three sapling prunus last year and two of those are insisting on leaning - the saplings were too tall for their size, they had evidently been grown in over-sheltered/crowded conditions. I am hovering between letting them strengthen and keeping them straight, in a rather haphazard kind of way. I will leave them for the moment but I agree it is a bit of a conundrum to know which way to go. If you have a very windy garden (I have) you might want to re-think what type of tree you grow in that spot, maybe a large shrub would do better.

macraignil

Can you post a picture of the way it is staked? The tie to the support is supposed to be low down on the tree to allow the top move in the wind and encourage the tree to become stronger naturally. The discription of the problem sounds like it may have been tied to the support too high up but a photo would make that clearer.

Fern Bench

It was staked good and low for the first year or so. I removed this and the tree leaned again, so I used a guy to straighten it which was about 4 feet up the trunk.

It's difficult to see the slant of the trunk with the other trees behind it. Actually looking at it today it's not that bad, I could live with the slant but I'm just afraid it might be a bit weak in storms.

The Continental Op

Live with it but plant another small one just in case ;-)

Perhaps leave the anchor for the guy rope and just attach it when we have storms forcast?

looksee

I don't think the fact that it leans means that it is weak. You see trees on the coast almost horizontal from the wind but they survive.

My own were low-staked, the slant is the top of the tree. I am going to leave them for the winter and see if they straighten up when they don't have leaves - less wind resistance - and decide what to do in the spring.

The Continental Op

What I normally find when I dig out a leaning tree is that the roots on the windward side are non existent, rotten broken or that there are roots going around the trunk. Nothing much you can do to fix that even with years more support.

macraignil

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119831929#Comment_119831929

That description sounds like the staking was not the issue. The tree looks fine to me in the photo. I have a liquidamber in a sheltered spot in the garden that is growing away with a small angle off vertical without a problem. Even leaving the stakes a bit longer on our driveway trees I still had a problem with a couple of them as the garden here is near the top of a hill. I talked to a tree surgeon about it after one was particularly wind damaged in a storm and he mentioned that another thing that could be done would be to take out some of the branches higher up so it would be acting less like a sail in strong winds to pull it closer to falling over completely. I posted a video of before and after and it really has bounced back well from what I thought was taking off a significant amount. I tried to retain the branches that were now vertical after the wind damage and took out more of the ones that had the angle moved away from vertical by the wind damage. Its still not completely straight but I think it fits with the other trees along the driveway that also have been blown a bit off vertical by the prevailing wind. It even was used by some birds as a place to build a nest this summer so hoping that's a vote of confidence that it will keep growing.

Happy gardening!

standardg60

As long as it's not moving at the roots it will be fine OP, i would see little point in staking it lower down now as that wood is well hardened.

Instead i would attach the cable to the leader higher up where the wood is more flexible and leave it there for a couple of years until it hardens up too.

Or do as Macraignil did and remove some of the leaning branches on the leeward side which will naturally help to straighten it up.

kazamo

You could leave it there and see what happens but every time there is any sort of strong winds you will be wondering what is it doing to the tree.

The combination of saturated soils and then strong winds is a big factor. I had it with an Eucalyptus Gunnii however when it started slanting it became a concern. I got a Tree Surgeon who advised that eventually the tree would come down as the root structure had been disturbed.

I do miss the tree but the peace of mind knowing it is not going to land on a neighbours car or possibly worse, was the ultimate factor.

DylanQuestion

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119832506#Comment_119832506

Unrelated but that driveway lined with limes is going to look amazing in a few years, if not already!