To stake or not to stake, that is the question....?

5 years ago

Hi everyone,

I am wondering if you can advise me as to whether I should get these two young trees staked or not please. They were planted in my new yard (Zone 4b in Canada) last summer:

This Royal Beauty Crabapple was quite small when it was planted last year, and it has survived the winter well. However, now it is apparent that the trunk is not straight and it is leaning towards the west, along with the direction of the winds. Should this be staked at all?

Then the next one is a Royal Red Maple that was potted before it was planted in the ground last summer. It is about 12 feet tall now, and as you see, from a distance, it looks very even with the silhouette, though when you look closely, you will see that the main lead leans to one side, and then together with another branch, forms a "Y" at the top. Someone said that I should have this staked to get it to grow up straight. Since it is already 12 feet tall, how on earth would I stake it? And should I even stake it at all?

I know that I am supposed to let these trees have their own movements in the trunk so that it will grow stronger, so I don't want to restrict too much movements there.... so what should I do with these two trees please? To stake or not to stake..... that is the question!

Thanks in advance for your help!

Featured Answer

Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

I'm not one of those 'Never-Stakers', so I would say it depends upon your climate, exposure, and the caliper of the trunk. I'd have lost many a small tree due to winds, heavy snows and ice loads, deer rubbings, etc in my climate, if I had not provided some kind of staking. I tend to stake more in winter and untie or loosen any ties in summer.

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Comments (8)

cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
5 years ago
I see no need to stake either of them- trees are rarely perfectly vertical and symmetrical.
ostrich thanked cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
5 years ago
leave the maple alone ... it is what it is.. and there is no need for you to 'fix it' according to some preconceived notion of how it should grow itself ... this is the usual suggestion.. when you can no longer prune safely on the ladder you own. at some point.. you just cant do it safely ... and who would want to spend money on hiring it out ....

what is your base soil type ... in fall.. i might just dig on one side of the other tree.. until i could tip the root mass the proper direction.. to straighten it ... and then be done with it..

i could easily do this in my native sand.. i dont know if it could be done in lets say... clay ...

you just planted it last year.. so it shouldnt be all that hard ..

but for sure.. i wouldnt do that in the heat of summer... probably right after leaf fall might be nice.. but definitely in dormancy ...

ken
ostrich thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
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L Clark (zone 4 WY)
5 years ago
I think I’d leave the maple alone
ostrich thanked L Clark (zone 4 WY)
ostrich
Original Author
5 years ago
Thank you, cearbhaill, ken and L Clark!

I agree with all of you that I should leave that maple alone! Thank you for confirming my thoughts!

As for the weeping crabapple, Ken, we have heavy clay here - so yikes! Hmm.... if it risks damaging the roots, I probably would just leave it alone.... but it surely is tempting to do so! :-)

Thanks again everyone!
seagreen_turtle Z6a SE Michigan
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
I planted a seriously crooked ginkgo tree in 2005. It was on sale. Well, I didn't stake it but a branch grew out opposite to the side it was leaning toward and now it is pretty symmetrical. I think most people would have "limbed it up" but I've left it completely alone, no dead branches ever. Dead branches I would have pruned.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
5 years ago
the weeping crabapple, Ken, we have heavy clay here - so yikes! Hmm.... if it risks damaging the roots,

==>>> wasnt it just planted last fall ..???

and my idea was.. it would only impact the roots on one side ...

whatever.. if you dont dig it.. then stake it.. if for no other reason.. winter ice storm could weight it down and make it worse or snap it ... im not sure i would worry about straightening it to the extreme ... it will eventually grow to offset it all .. and the trunk will get stouter so we wont worry about it snapping ... in tree time.. 5 to 10 years ...

i note you planted in summer.. and i wanted to offer the usual caution of not planting fully leafed out trees in summer.. but crikey.. in your zone .... what is summer.. 4 weeks long.. lol ... so you apparently got away with it.. so good for knowing your locational variables ....

ken

ps: in my sand.. i could probably dig as noted.. and lever it basically straight.. and probably not even snap a root that i didnt cut with the shovel .... but thats all due to my a. retentive compulsive need for things to be straight .. im the guy who walks around peeps houses... straitening crooked pictures ...
ostrich thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
ostrich
Original Author
5 years ago
Dave, thanks for the good advice! I surely have some smaller trees that I am staking just so that they won't snap during a big wind storms, for just the reasons that you have outlined - thank you!

Ken, you are right - our growing season is too short here!!! SIGH!!! You know, Ken, it was also tricky last year because the landscaping company was going to work on my yard (from scratch!) last spring. However, things got delayed by multiple factors, so in the end, the trees were not planted until the summer!!! SIGH! I was just glad that it was done... but honestly, things are so fragile here that I worry that if I disrupt the roots, even on just one side, it may not do well here. Maybe I should just stake it for now and see what happens....

Thanks again!

P.S. Ken, I used to live in Zone 5 in Ohio (similar to your growing conditions, I guess?) - I thought that was tough for gardening, until I moved to Zone 3/4 here in Canada!!!! LOL! Now I know that it's a whole different type of gardening up here.... LOL!