"wheator" wrote in message
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I have a silver birch that is just over 3 years old - it's about 12'
high, but the trunk is not very substantial - ie almost the same width
from ground level to about 3' to the top. The tree has always been
staked. The position of the tree is in a very windy area (strong
westerlies) and as such tends to bend into the wind.
The stake has been gradually reduced in height to now about 2'
from

snippage

The reason the trunk is so thin, is quite possibly because the
juvenile lower branches were removed far too early. The presence
of those branches encourages natural thickening of the trunk
in the form of vessels to transport water and nutrients
to those juvenile branches.

This is either a cultural fault, or a deliberate policy depending
on where the tree was going to be located. A tree with a narrow
trunk can look more elegant in certain situations. But not
in this one, unfortunately

I'm not sure if there's anything that can be done to remedy this
fault at this stage, as trees grow so as to maintain a natural
balance.

The tree is clearly situated in the wrong place, and is going to
present you with ongoing problems whatever you do. If you made
any attempt to prune back the top, all that would achieve would be
to encourage more growth and eventually make the tree even more
top heavy.

If there's any possibily that the tree could cause substantial
damage if it broke in two, either to your own or your neigbours
property, something you alone can judge, then it should possibly
be removed.



michael adams

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