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| Ok, so I'm wondering if there is any way to correct a bent trunk in a young tree? It was staked for about 2 years, and I removed the stakes a couple months ago. It seems like it's bending more than ever. I'm thinking of attaching a guy wire maybe 3/4 of the way up, to a stake in the ground several feet away with gentle pressure to get the tree to straighten out. Would that be a good idea, or is there something better I can do? I know there's a chance it may self correct, but I'd like to do whatever I can to help it. Otherwise it looks like if it keeps growing the way it is, it's going to grow straight into my neighbor's yard, which would be a problem.
Thanks! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Mon, Jul 23, 12 at 14:06
| what is it.. a ginkgo??? if so.. and it were in my MI.. it might take 100 years to get to the fence line.. lol.. are they more aggressive for you??? it looks like a co-dominant leader was removed.. is there a scar there??? frankly.. i am not a perfection kinda guy.. and i would leave it be to do its own thing.. besides the fact.. that a 20 foot guy wire across the yard.. to actually attach it where you suggest.. would drive me insane .. [think about it.. to put a wire.. 3/4 up.. what 15 feet?? .. and to stress the tree properly.. its going to have to be 15 to 20 feet out .. its not like you will do this.. 5 feet out from the tree] ken |
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| I have the same question about a Tulip tree. Curious what folks come back with. Like your Ginkgo, the Tulip tree's bark is thin and easily damaged so I have my reservations about staking it against the trunk. Yours isn't as bad though. It looks like a potential leader is pointing straight up and in a few years you wouldn't notice it. |
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| Yes it's a ginkgo (autumn gold), but it's actually only about 9-10 feet tall, so 3/4 up would be 6-7 feet up the trunk. Yes, there does appear to be a scar where it bends, where it looks like a branch was pruned at some point. I've heard so many different things about their growth rate, but the ginkgos in my area seem to do pretty well, and mine gets probably 10 hours of sun a day. Not sure, but I would think they grow faster in southern California than Michigan, just because we get so much more sun here. I suppose I can't drive a new tall stake in right next to the tree without damaging the roots at this point, huh? I think I might at least try the guy wire idea unless anyone else has any other suggestions, just to try to bring the upper half into a more vertical position and see how it goes. |
Here is a link that might be useful: ginkgos
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| Looks like a 'Princeton Sentry' ginkgo. I'm with ken in that it will take years of cambial growth to thicken the trunk enough for it to hold a straighter trunk position, and that means a wire or cable stretching across the yard for that long. Which is uglier? The bent trunk or the cable and stake? Anyway, if you decide to stake the tree use one or two 1-1/2" wide straps with grommets to spread the pressure on the trunk as shown in the quick sketch below. hortster |
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| Horster, I don't see how that could work unless the entire tree was crooked right out of the ground. The crook is half way up the tree. Just looking for clarification if anything. I'm thinking you put one stake to the right and below the crook and then one to the left and above the crook. In case everyone missed it there is a leader on this tree pointing straight up. If you stake it your leader will now be on an angle. |
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- Posted by hosenemesis SoCal Sunset 19 USDA (My Page) on Mon, Jul 23, 12 at 17:53
| Can you just tie a cushioned flat four foot tall board to it, two feet below the bend and two feet above? You could tighten it slowly, a little a week, at the top to bring it into alignment. Then you wouldn't need a guy wire. Renee |
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Mon, Jul 23, 12 at 18:09
| "it was staked for about two years". Therein lies the problem. Trees should not be staked at all if there is no compelling reason to do so. And when there is a compelling reason, the stakes should be removed no later than one year after planting. I don't think it's even that bad. Sure, ginkgos are on the slow side, but eventually, that little crook will be unnoticeable. +oM |
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| whaas, the sketch was a concept drawing - of course it would be applied above the crook in that ginkgo. I don't think that it would be good to torque the tree above and below. My comment is that, if it is to be tried, spread the pressure out. I have seen too many trees where the narrow guy has been left too long and has grown into the tree. At least this method lessens the damage to the tree. +oM is correct for newly planted trees that the stakes, if needed at all, should be removed after one year (two "rooting" seasons - spring and fall). But, when people INSIST on straightening as suggested, obviously for more than one year, at least the pressure on the cambium should be lessened. We did this for a customer that didn't have a straightening problem, rather a poor rooting problem on a blue spruce that had been blown over at an angle after a heavy windstorm. We took the straps and stakes off after two years and it soon started to lean again. After four years (it was UGLY to watch) it finally stood straight again (so far). My only point here is that its cambium was apparently not damaged by the straps. Hell, I would have just taken the tree out, but the customer wouldn't hear of it. I'll go back to ken's comment - it is probably best to leave this tree alone. hortster |
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| I have to be honest... I think I'd leave that be. |
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| It is an Autumn Gold, just a young one though I can see how it might look like a narrow Princeton Sentry from the camera angle. I only left it staked so long because I noticed the crook in the trunk pretty early on, and was hoping the stakes would help straighten it, which didn't work. Thanks for all the advice (and the great drawing), I will definitely give it some thought. |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Tue, Jul 24, 12 at 9:25
| ok.. who remembers enough geometry.. to figure out how far the stake will have to be out from the tree ...??? at least an equilateral triangle.. so if the kink of 7 feet up ... you are going to have to be at least 7 feet out.. thereby basically ruining the the rest of the lawn.. for what.. 3 to 5 years ... you are NOT going to pound a stake near its trunk ... [your worry about its roots] .. and stress the trunk at 7 feet ... IGNORE IT... it will balance itself out ... you are forcing an aesthetic on it ... when the canopy expands ... it will hide the kink that is apparently bugging the bee-gee-bees out of you ... and .... i always worry if you basically pull it tight like a bow .. that far up.. the first wind storm from the wrong direction.. will snap it off based on your stress points ... ken |
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| markces, FWIW, I wouldn't worry too much about it. That amount of lean will often correct themselves over time. At least that is the case with most species, can't say for sure about Ginkgo. Ginkgos have a strong tendency to grow sideways to begin with. This is because a side growing branch will continue to grow in the same fashion when grafted (this is not true for most tree species however). That tends to make them grow in a lean. I had to keep out Princeton Sentry staked for about 4 years, as it simply could not stand on it's own. I no longer have to stake it, but it still has much more bow to it than yours. This is partly due to not being able to completely straighten it in the first place, and because weeks of strong winds in the spring keeps bending it over while growing. So I have just decided to let it do what it's going to do. Arktrees |
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