Hi

I have an Evans cherry (tree form) at the front of my house with an eastern exposure. It's about 4 years old now. It had a sort of offset leader to start with, but now the leader is really leaning to the northeast, away from the shadow of the house. I staked it when it was new but took off the stakes when it was a year in, and it seemed to be fine - i.e. growing up. Now the whole tree is leaning northeast, and it looks awful. All of my perennials lean to the east, but that doesn't bother me as much because it's easier to stake those, and they face the street.

Does anyone know if I stake the main trunk low and stake the leader if I have to leave it like that for the rest of it's life? The reason I ask is that I have a fairly small front yard and the stake supports will have to go across a pathway. Can I stake it for the winter and take it off for the summer? I'm just not sure how trees respond to staking.

Thanks.