You can buy stakes made of treated wood at a garden store or home improvement center. By using our site, you agree to our. Avoid damaging the roots when placing the stake. Next, tie the strap around the stake and ratchet it tight until the tree is standing straight. Filmed on a CS32 refresher course. The best time to stake a tree is when the soil is moist and pliable, which is often the case in the springtime. Hammer the stake about 18 in (46 cm) away from the tree and 18 in (46 cm) into the ground at about a 15-degree angle away from the tree. If the tree is particularly large and you don’t want to dig it out yourself, you can hire a tree moving company to dig the hole with a tree spade. Please help us continue to provide you with our trusted how-to guides and videos for free by whitelisting wikiHow on your ad blocker. For more significant leaning that could adversely affect the tree's growth, you can straighten it up and stake it in place to temporarily provide support until its root system becomes established. % of people told us that this article helped them. If the tree is going to be cut down, increase the tension as the tree is cut in order to direct its fall. References. How Do You Protect Japanese Maple Trees from Winter Damage? Straps with ratchets are available at home improvement stores, or you can find special tree straightening straps at a garden store. Many arborists encourage tree planters not to stake their trees. This article was co-authored by Lauren Kurtz. Hammer a stake into the ground in the opposite direction than the leaning tree. For example, if the tree’s diameter is 20 in (51 cm), then you would need to dig a trench that is at least 200 in (510 cm) wide. Either way, with some care and patience, you will be able to set your tree straight again! Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. A tree's instinct is to grow straight upward, which can correct a small degree of leaning over time. Small leaning trees are fixable using just a stake and a strap, while larger leaning trees will require you to dig out the root system and use a lot of muscle to correct them. We know ads can be annoying, but they’re what allow us to make all of wikiHow available for free. It is fairly common for a young tree to lean if it encounters extreme weather conditions like heavy rains, ice storms, heavy snow, or strong winds or is planted in unstable soil. This makes it easier for working from one point for extended periods of time. This method of straightening will work for trees that are to big to straighten by pulling on with a strap and stake system. Now that your tree is positioned the way you want it, it’s time to firm up the soil … Therefore never stand in the direction of movement and of course not under the trunk. Enlisting a helper is a good idea. This guy was 25-30’ tall, and as you can see it was tipping/leaning a lot. Once your ratchet strap is in place, wrap the hose around the tree and pull the strap around the stake. The easiest way to straighten a small tree is to support it with a stake. Use slow, steady pressure so you don't damage the trunk. NOTE: 1. The ropes also should have a small amount of slack to allow the trunk some movement. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 72,930 times. Consider Cabling. However, trees that lean suddenly can be a sign of structural issues. She earned a BA in Environmental and Sustainability Studies from Western Michigan University in 2014. Do Your Trees Need Long-Term Support? Young, newly-planted trees are most vulnerable. 2) Install a self-locking pulley at the base of a tree in the fall direction. Make sure the piece of hose is long enough to wrap about 3/4 of the way around the trunk of the tree to protect the bark. The bark of a young tree is fragile and these will chafe or slice the bark. Despite putting in two bracing poles, the tree leans over maybe 15 degrees. You can use wire fed through a piece of rubber hose as well, but a strap with a ratchet is easier to tighten. Wrap the string around the trunk, then measure how much string fit around the trunk with a regular tape measure. Strips of canvas or burlap can also work. Bill, I wanted to get your thoughts on attempting to straighten up a leaning Magnolia tree. Gradually tighten the wire to hold or pull the leaning tree upright. Tighten the winch to pull the tree in the direction you want it to fall. Really large trees will not correct easily. Don’t pull up the roots without loosening them first, or you risk tearing them and killing the tree. Firming Up The Soil. It was 37 here at 5:30 am on Wednesday. You can remove the strap completely after 1 growing season. There are several reasons why a young tree can develop a lean: If a strong storm has completely uprooted a small tree, it needs to be carefully assessed to determine if it is salvageable. After the tree is upright, thoroughly tamp the soil around the base to pack the root ball in place. There are 12 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This will help prevent the tree from leaning … This anchor system allows you to firmly attach your winch on a tree or a post. Consider leaving your tree leaning to avoid damaging the roots and killing your mature tree. I planted the tree 8 years ago. Use rope or cables threaded through some form of pliable sleeve to tie the tree to the stakes. You can use a pickaxe to get the hole started, or wet the ground with a hose first to soften it and make it easier to pound the stake in. It will be easier to push the tree straight if the surrounding soil is moist and … This article has been viewed 72,930 times. 3) Attach the end of the rope as high as possible to the tree being felled (Figure 2a). First, pound your stake into the ground at an angle so it’s pointing in the opposite direction to the leaning tree. Wow, Brett sorry to see all the damage! Severing trees from their root plates Felling heavily leaning trees Bringing down hung-up trees or parts of the crown Bringing down a tree with a broken crown touching the ground Felling the remains of a tree without a crown 5 The risk of accidents is substantially reduced if windblown trees are dealt with using the appropriate machines and This method will work for trees that are of a size you can straighten by pulling on it with your hands. If your planting site experiences winds that blow predominantly from one direction, it is best to position stakes on the upwind side of the tree where the stakes anchor the tree against the force of the winds. Pound a stake into the ground in the opposite direction than the tree is leaning. A tree weighted away from the intended direction of fall must be pulled back with force sufficient to overcome its entire weight. Then, feed a ratchet strap through a piece of rubber hose, which you'll find at a hardware store. If soil is dry, you can make it more pliable with a dowsing from a garden hose. It's common to stake young trees in place immediately after planting, but many arborists say this isn't necessarily a good idea. Drive the stakes to a depth of at least 18 inches if possible and even deeper if the soil texture is loose and sandy. But if the root ball of a tree is small relative to its size, you may want to stake it to hold it up while it takes root! If the tree is leaning but firmly rooted, loosen the entire tree by cutting around the base with a sharp spade to make a new “root ball.” Remove soil to make room for the tree to roll into place. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. A healthy, young tree doesn’t need to be staked up in order to grow straight. Last Updated: September 18, 2019 Never allow bare wire, cables, or rope to come in direct contact with a tree trunk because doing so can damage its bark, introducing disease and pests. Step down method Severely leaning hang-ups can be difficult to roll down, and must be levered or pulled backward. Don’t tighten the strap so that the tree cannot move at all. Simply insert the hooks of the winch into the openings and there you have it, the winch is installed at a more comfortable height and the pivoting support aligns the winch automatically with the load. But Im unscathed (for now anyway). Video: Forward leaning tree. Attach a rope or wire as a guy to the stake, but never attach it around the trunk of a tree. Wrap the trunk in burlap or heavy cloth to protect the bark during the straightening. You want it to be able to move a bit in the wind so the roots grow strong. Then, stake the tree to give it support as its roots take hold again. Pull on the tree with the strap gently to make sure the tree can still stand on its own under pressure. Make an effort to straighten a young tree when the lean is severe enough to permanently affect its vertical growth as it reaches maturity. Drive the stakes into the ground at a 45-degree angle toward the trunk of the tree. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/b\/b6\/Straighten-a-Tree-Step-1.jpg\/v4-460px-Straighten-a-Tree-Step-1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/b\/b6\/Straighten-a-Tree-Step-1.jpg\/aid10806131-v4-728px-Straighten-a-Tree-Step-1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"546","licensing":"