I've found my oaks don't thicken up very well when immobilized like that. If you can do it, a stake in the ground ~6-8" away and tether the tree to the stake so it stays generally upright but will also have some free movement in the wind.

okay, Thanks!

It had such a curve in the trunk after it bent to the north, I tried to tie it to an offset stake earlier this summer, but when I pulled it to upright, the curve remained even though the top was directly above the bottom, kind of bow shaped.

How otherwise would one take the curve out in this situation?

I'm hoping being it's been straight a couple of months, it will stay straight, am I correct in hoping that?

I'd leave it go until the fall when the leaves start to drop. The tree should stiffen up for sure when the growing season ends. Oaks tend to stay "rubbery" longer than most any other tree. Of course, you could always cut the ties now, see what it does, and then re-tie it back up if it wants to fall over.

Staking an oak is kind of a double-edged sword situation. If you leave a tree with a significant bend or S-curve, it can harden up that way and you could have an unsightly, permanently bent tree in your yard. When you strap a stake to it you make it nice and straight, but the new wood that develops will have less strength. Rocking back and forth in the wind makes the trunk stronger, sturdier, tougher.

Here is a full view of the tree. The stake was taped to the trunk to keep it straight but it was also staked offset bc of horrific wind we have occasionally to keep it upright.

The second growth is beginning to harden off so maybe it would be okay to cut the bands and see what it does. I got plenty of tape and if it does stay straight, it can have the rest of the season to sway around and harden off.

The trunk has expanded, you can tell by how tight the bands are. They snap when you cut them (I took one off already).

I took the one offset stake in the pic foreground (north) out bc the north winds weren't bothering it anymore. I suppose that was the direction that was 'against the bend'.

I replaced the far stake (south) with a taller plastic stake that shows in the first picture. It's tied further up toward the top so doesn't show in the first pic.

The ties are nylon stockings that have some stretch to them so the trunk does move around when wind blows.

Last spring, after being staked the previous season bc the bottom 6" was flexing, I removed the stake. Then the entire trunk bent after new growth emerged. If I would have pulled it up to a stake sooner, it might have been okay. But it only took a week or two for the trunk to assume the 'C' shape permanently.

Funny, I thought oaks would be so tough/hard.

Unfortunately, many oaks in Minnesota seem to be a threat to get the "bends" up to about 2.5" in trunk diameter (near base). And it doesn't help if the tree is planted in a wide open location with no larger trees around to act as a windbreak. The better the growth, the more "rubbery" they can become. I have to use fiberglass on my oaks. It's hard to sell oaks with any kind of bend or wiggle to the trunks.

Nice looking tree, by the way.

Thanks!

It's a woods dug that I accidentally cut the tap root short. It was growing in a very wet location with very deep, black, organic soil and had water up to the top of the ground in places. The tap root was growing sideways, very shallow in the ground. I suppose because it was so wet it didn't need to go down. Yes I chopped it thinking it was in the center of the root ball when I made my circle cut with the shovel. I got about 10" of tap root with it. :-(

Planted it in the yard and it leafed out pretty good the next spring. But the next year, a year ago last spring found out it was in the wrong spot so it got moved to the other side of the yard. I'm sure I broke any form of re-established tap root with the move.

Anyways, it came back pretty good last year after the move with some what small leaves and little branch length addition. but this year had somewhat larger leaves and plenty of them. It put out around 5" of branch growth early spring and then sent out more this summer with another 8" or so on every branch. So yeah, I'm happy with it. quite a few white oak grow around here and many are very nice specimens. :-)

I'd cut tape and then loosen up the string/rope to the stakes so that trunk can move 4-6" and leave this way for about 6 months an then re-evaluate.

Agree w/scotjute -- loosen stuff slowly and incrementally, not all at once. Might be a process taking several yrs.......

Ugh, several years?

I cut the tape this AM. No Go.

Sorry for sun in face pic but you can see the bend in the trunk compared to the loosened stake.

Already have it taped up. It has a fork in the trunk about 4 ft up, with a dominant fork going off to the left. So it probably will be a tree with some 'Character' right from the git go. But I like trees like that, so probably let it be until leaves drop and 'what will be will be'. Be a gnarly old oak some day. :-)

It has an interesting root flare too. Maybe why they call it 'White Oak'?

Update:

Dug from the woods as a 5 ft. whip/sapling and planted in my yard Fall of 2016. Then the next year, dug up again and moved over to the other side of the yard, with last year being defoliated by June bugs and this year experiencing Oak tatter. This Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa) is making acorns this season. :-)

Not a great picture but 8-1/2' tall, guessing 8-10 yo tree?

Nice balanced crown.

I never get bored with this species as I revel at the corky young bark.

I know this is a little late whaas (been a busy time of year). My bur oak doesn't display the rough, corky bark that some do. It does have that flavor but when I dug it, I was just looking for something it the White oak family. Later on, it got me thinking that mine could be Bur or possibly a cross with macrocarpa and alba? I really don't know and am satisfied with the one I have.

You can see some of the 'corkiness' at the base of the branches but it feathers out to nothing as you get to the end of the branch. (sorry windy day here). :-)

eta: added better picture of oak branch:

A few of the acorns have stopped growing, turned brown and fallen off (insect damage?)

The rest are pressing on. Some tip gall still apparent.

Nice. Here's one from mine last year -- May frost killed all the flowers this past spring. Some I planted & a couple sprouted that I assume are hybrids 'cause there aren't any other burr oaks around.

Sprouted burr oak acorns -- look like hybrids w/white oak:

Ben you are getting out to the edge of Quercus macrocarpa's eastern range. Be interesting to see how they grow. Will you transplant them elsewhere or aren't you interested in Hybrids?

If I wouldn't have watered my tree, I'm sure the acorns would all be on the ground long time ago, it was that dry.

My brother lost a huge white oak & now has a big open space, so those seedlings will go to his yard.