i use plastic bags with soil inside them. i tie them around the end of branches. play around with the amount of soil and how far down the branch i tie the bag till the branch is bending down at the right angle and at the right height

I use tent stakes and string...

Marc:

I think your limb bending is fine, and don't see that you have overdone it.

But if those trees were planted in 2005, they are growing very slowly. My suggestion would be to clear out the grasses surrounding the trees in a circle about 6 feet in diameter with Roundup, then mulch heavily with an organic mulch. There is just too much competition for the trees from grass growing right up to the trunks.

I will admit that mulching can be quite a bit of work, but think it is worth it for vigorous trees. It looks like you live in a semi-rural area, and maybe you have access to things like stable manure, sawdust, or wood chips. Even shredded leaves would work if you can find enough of them.

I'm not suggesting that your trees have health problems. They don't look like they do. But if you can clear out the competition and feed the soil with an organic component, you will see some real improvement in the trees.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

btw- massively envious of all that S P A C E

u have out there.

Hey Marc,

I like what jellyman has to say but with one modification. NO ROUNDUP!! You can supress weeds by laying down cardboard and then mulching on top of that. You won't have chemicals in your soil and you won't be supporting Monsanto. Try it and see.

-Little John

... or maybe use generic glyphosate. Still extremely safe for the soil (as is Roundup), won't support Monsanto, minimizes hassles of applications and maintenance of area, and saves money compared to Roundup.

I second others' comments with regard to the grass growing right up to your trunks. Starves your trees!

I use bricks and string, BTW.

-Bruce

...and plant 4 more trees in the row in-between the other trees, and then add two more rows between that and the next row. Mulch the whole thing, and you're done with it!

Applenut

I used lawn clippings from the neighbor all last summer for a mulch. It worked great and there was narry a weed poking through including bindweed. By Oct or Nov the grass was reduced to nearly nothing via decomposition and worms. The only thing my neighbor did to his lawn was water, mow and fertilize. My trees, from 2nd leaf to mature did well. My primary concern is with the nutrients the grass clippings no doubt supplied, particularly late season N.

This year I started by putting down about 2" of chipped small diameter local tree trimmings courtesy of Asplundh. Next comes the grass clippings. I live in a climate that ranges from very dry to very wet depending on the year. Last year was very wet, this year is extremely dry so far.

I have a related question. How long does it take to get the limb trained to stay to where they are bent? I just bought some limbspreaders and have been tying some down and have been wondering how long it will take.

You can bend them a lot more than that. Go to horizontal if you like. No matter how long you leave the weights on, the limbs will rebound upward to a degree.

This is what I use under fruit trees, it is capable of getting rid of all the grass. Symphytum ibericum = grandiflorum, groundcover comfrey. I don't know if it is a problem with root competition, but my trees are large so there doesn't seem to be one. I don't find it hard to find fallen fruit in the groundcover as it is not very tall.

{{gwi:66212}}

for mulch, wood chips, the larger the better, are best. They will last two years or more (for 3 inches), they will make the topsoil too acid for grass, and will provide decent amounts of P and K for relatively little N. 3 inches of grass clippings last 3 months, dead leaves a tad more. Given the work that it is to carry and spread all that weight, chips is the most economical way.

I put rocks into knee-high women's nylon stockings and tied those to my branches. Did not last quite a year, (nylon rotted I think) but it did a great job and the nylon was easy on the branches.