Will this young tree straighten up?

[Lumberjacked]

here is my .02...I have done this a couple of times and it does work. I attached a pretty ugly drawing of how to set it up. I believe this is the same device Elmore is talking about, although I couldn't find a pic and didn't have time to read his links. You will need to buy a section of 1"X2" lumber, some ArborTie, staple gun and some Sheetrock screws. What you want to do is create a pressure point on the crook of the tree forcing it to take a more natural shape. This device will pull the top back and push the middle forward causing the tree to straighten over time. So...when you look in the drawing the blue lines represent the 1X2's and the pink is the ArborTie. On the right is a close up of what the end of the 1X2 needs to look like. You will need to cut a groove into the wood so that it will stay in place. I have never done this but just thought it would be a good idea; glue a piece of ArborTie into the groove so that there is not a rough surface chaffing the trees bark. You will need to cut the ends of the 1X2's at an angle to make the desired shape of your brace. Then place it on the tree and staple the ArborTie around the ends of the brace making sure that is snug so there is no unwanted movement. I would not keep this on for more then 2 growing seasons and take it off in the dormant months. Hopefully this helps some...

 

[Lumberjacked]

dont know where the attachment went....here ya go

 

[D Mc]

I understand the methodology of the last several contributors on straightening trees. However, I don't believe this tree requires anything so elaborate. Really, it is slightly bigger than a whip. And on a young tree of this size a ground-based straightening system is inappropriate and overlooking the reason for the problem to begin with. Which is bad nursery practices.

When growth is forced and the tree is artificially supported, it has no reason to produce support cells. Any system that requires ground support at this point in its life will only perpetuate the problem. The tree needs to move.

Dave

 

[Lumberjacked]

That is why you really only need to do this for 1 maybe 2, at the most, growing seasons. You are right in saying that this is due to poor nursery practices but that still doesn't fix the problem at hand. He wants to straighten the tree for aesthetic reasons. There is nothing wrong with that tree in terms of weak structure or the like, it is just an eye-swore. So for $15.00 and 25mins you can have an eye-swore for the next year or the next ten...Its up to you.

 

[D Mc]

Lumberjacked, I don't disagree with you. I just feel the straightening should be done by a nonground-based system as per my earlier post.

Dave