Supporting Trees make them Weak

[Alicehunter2000]

Today I came home and the wind had snapped the stake support on my recently planted Summer Chocolate Mimosa. The tree was not broken but was bent almost to the ground. I staked it back up for now but will remove the stake when it drops its leaves this fall.

Another fairly recent planting, an avocado, did the same thing when the stake was removed. I loosely tied it back up but am allowing it to bend. My hope is that the tree will respond to the waning support and strengthen. Is this idea valid?

[Bennz]

I never stake trees. Much better to prune them low and let them grow into the wind. There are many examples of staked trees falling over as soon as the stakes are removed. I've often wondered why nurseries use stakes. I've grown well over 250,000 trees in my nursery and never used stakes, even with grafted avocados etc. Stakes are valuable for establishing overly large transplants until their roots establish, but that's about it.

If those trees were mine, I would cut the avocado in half, you'll end up with a better tree, plus it will be much more likley to produce bushy growth rather than a tall tree with the fruit out of reach. The Albizia, I would like to remove the stake and prune the branchs back, but this is problematic as Albizias tend to produce vertical shoots from cuts, so probably your idea of removing the stake in winter might be best. Seriously consider removing a few of the branches though for less wind resistance.

[Palm crazy]

David thats a really good example of how not to stake a tree. LOL!

The tree needs to move in the wind to make the trunk stronger. This is done by putting three or four stakes around the tree and attach with string. This will enable the tree to blow in the wind from side to side making the stem even stronger as it grows. Once you have the trunk stable after a year or two you can take the stakes off when the trunk has become strong and more able to support it own top weight.

Just one of many Examples. img_0849.jpg

Edited July 15, 2014 by Palm crazy

[_Keith]

When staking, you definitely need to allow for movement to allow the tree to strengthen naturally. I use two stakes with pieces of used bicycle inner tube instead of rope or string. It give a soft rather than hard stopping point for movement and a softer impact on the tree's trunk as well. Common advice now is not staking at all, but for folks who live on windy sites like you and me, that is impractical.

Best of luck.

Oh - you can usually get old bicycle inner tubes at the local bike shop for free.

[LJG]

There is nothing wrong with stakes. You just need to do it right like Keith pointed out.

[DoomsDave]

Sometimes you have to stake trees, especially large ones grown in nurseries under sheltered conditions. Sometimes you're required to start with a large tree (HOA rules, ya' know!) sometimes you just want one.

Sometimes, as in my case, you're selling trees in Moreno Valley, California, on a windy, semi-arid plain, in a new housing development with poor soil and no trees for shelter. Hundreds of trees: liquidambar, sycamore, ficus, jacaranda, chorisia, citrus, prunus, cedar, pine, lagerstromea, tipu, tabubeiea (sp?) fraxinus (from Hell), ulmus, hymenosporum, bauhinia, and many many more.

I recommended that people stake trees with stout stakes about 12 - 18" from the trunk, one on either side, with one stake into the prevailing wind. Bike inner tubes work well, so do those green tie tapes sold in nurseries. If you have really fierce wind you can use wire with pieces of used garden hose around the trunk to avoid injuring the bark. The tree should be loose enough to sway in the wind, but tight enough not to fall over or break if it gets nasty. It should be able to swing 2 - 4 inches (5 - 10 cm).

Keep an eye on trees. As they grow in a windy spot, the trunk should thicken noticeably. It won't hurt to trim a leafy tree like a ficus to give the wind fewer leaves to grab onto. (Remove one third of the branches.) Once it grows a bit, you'll get leaves up the wazoo. Deciduous trees won't be as problematic when the leaves drop, but you can get wind all the time in many places.

If you're expecting a cyclone, i.e., a hurricane, check the stakes and pray. Maybe add extra stakes to trees that need it.

[_Keith]

  On 7/16/2014 at 4:13 AM, DoomsDave said:

If you're expecting a cyclone, i.e., a hurricane, check the stakes and pray. Maybe add extra stakes to trees that need it.

Or the famous or infamous "Hurricane Cut."

[The Silent Seed]

Agreed with the above - Just a word of caution with the Albizia - Most of them are grafted fairly high - so be mindful if you do some chopping. (They are very floppy trees to begin with, so you can expect some unusual angles no matter what - which is just part of their awesome character.)

[David in Berkeley]

The nursery stake attached directly to the trunk should always be removed, that is NOT an appropriate long term staking solution. I totally agree that growing trees without stakes, or planting out at sizes where they don't need a stake is better for the tree, but isn't realistic with most all trees purchased at any USA nursery. Replace the nursery stake with two new stakes further out as described above by others. The Sunset Western Garden Book or Ortho books on landscaping describe the intent and process well.

[DoomsDave]

And for the love of [the diety of your choice] once the tree gets thicker than the stake, remove the stake!

Use it for another tree! But remove it.

Especially if it's metal! You've likely seen those trees where they didn't and which began to engulf the stake, which becomes impossible to remove.

Or, worse, you've cut down a tree from which some long ago moron didn't remove the metal stake, and well, I'm going to the restroom . . . .

[Alicehunter2000]

All excellent advice. I have already removed stakes from everything that could support itself. All of these came from nurseries...I do not stake plants normally.

The avocado...I cannot bear to cut as I am trying to get height in my garden and all the existing avocadoes that I had were killed to the ground by the Vortex. All are coming back, but it will be a long time before they get as tall as this one.

I took three stakes and stuck them in the ground around the avocado and tied string around...it is able to flop around a few inches in any direction...should toughen up now. The mimosa will remain the way I got it from the nursery for now...when it drops its leaves I will drop the stake and do it similar to the avocado.

[Bennz]

  On 7/16/2014 at 2:13 PM, David in Berkeley said:

The nursery stake attached directly to the trunk should always be removed, that is NOT an appropriate long term staking solution. I totally agree that growing trees without stakes, or planting out at sizes where they don't need a stake is better for the tree, but isn't realistic with most all trees purchased at any USA nursery. Replace the nursery stake with two new stakes further out as described above by others. The Sunset Western Garden Book or Ortho books on landscaping describe the intent and process well.

Probably not helpful advice for many tree species, but in my earlier forest establishment days I experimented with planting trees with up to 80% of their trunk height underground. Eucalyptus saligna thrived with this treatment. Forest cell-grown seedlings about 1 foot tall, planted with around 2 inches of top showing above the ground. Most experts would tell you this would kill the trees, maybe in some soils, but they thrived here. Certainly should help them with drought tolerance in a bad year too. No need of staking in this situation! After a few years I couldn't remember which were deep planted and which weren't, but there was no obvious difference in growth rate amongst the plantation. Until the grey lerp (Cardiospina fiscella) arrived of course, but that's another story...!

[_Keith]

I planted out a couple of young Bur Oaks this spring. My site is windy. Even though very small, like 18 inches, one snapped in half in a spring rainstorm. It has already grown a new leader and surpassed the other one. Seedlings are amazingly adaptable and persistent.

[fastfeat]

[Ken Johnson]

  On 7/17/2014 at 6:06 AM, fastfeat said:

The Best Buy ad is the most important part...LOL

[Gtlevine]

Nothing wrong with stakes if done right, they help get you the shape of tree you may want. Me, I let most of my trees grow wild without stakes. They will look scraggly for a while but eventually they start strengthening and find their way up into a naturally shaped tree. But I have also used stakes successfully.

[DoomsDave]

  On 7/17/2014 at 6:46 PM, Ken Johnson said:

  On 7/17/2014 at 6:06 AM, fastfeat said:

The Best Buy ad is the most important part...LOL

Looks like downtown LA right down from the Courthouse or Disney Hall.

[fastfeat]

  On 7/17/2014 at 9:24 PM, DoomsDave said:

  On 7/17/2014 at 6:46 PM, Ken Johnson said:

  On 7/17/2014 at 6:06 AM, fastfeat said:

The Best Buy ad is the most important part...LOL

Looks like downtown LA right down from the Courthouse or Disney Hall.

Can't recall where I shot this -- somewhere in unincorporated LA Co. Standard 3X3 well with the split well covers. I believe the City of LA proper still uses the single iron pipe stakes they've used for years that are responsible for destroying many chainsaws and Doskos...