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 ground level.
I have a couple of questions - Should I insert an additional stake in order to try and straighten up this eastward bending trunk or is it too late, in which case should I remove the remaining stake and leave it to the elements to either increase the girth of the tree or blow it over - my concern is that once it fully comes into leaf, in a stron wind, the crown will simply snap off?
Any advice would be appreciated.
Rob

"wheator" wrote in message
...

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
ground level.
I have a couple of questions - Should I insert an additional stake in
order to try and straighten up this eastward bending trunk or is it too
late, in which case should I remove the remaining stake and leave it to
the elements to either increase the girth of the tree or blow it over -
my concern is that once it fully comes into leaf, in a stron wind, the
crown will simply snap off?
Any advice would be appreciated.

If you have the space you could attach a flexible ring to the underside of
the crown and "Guy Rope" it on the side the wind blows from.
Have a word with
http://www.jtoms.co.uk/

"wheator" wrote in message
...

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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