Young trees drooping to the ground

[def38]

I have recently moved to Alabama north of Birmingham...an area east of Warrior (Blount County) that was once strip mined for coal. Many of the trees on my property are young, spindly and rather tall for their trunk diameter. The varieties are Oak, Sweet gum, Southern pine, Hickory and others native to the area. Most of these young trees appear to have sought and competed for sun by growing tall very rapidly leaving a small, weak trunk. With the recent drought years here in Alabama, some of these trees appear stressed to the point that they no longer remain erect and bow down to the ground even though there is green foliage on the tree.

Are there any fixes for the condition? I have removed most of the poorest trees from my property but I seek professional advice from those of you familiar with such ailing trees. :newbie: Your help/advice is appreciated.

 

[Dadatwins]

Is it possible to select a few of the best specimans and keep those and remove the rest? Sounds like it might be to much competition for limited water resources. You can temporary stake up the trees you are keeping using some rubber hose around the trunk and some wire to a stake placed near the keepers. Only keep the stakes up long enough for the tree to stand alone. usually 1 year.

 

[def38]

Staking is not an option. The trees in question are 20-40 feet in height with 3-5 inch trunks. Any further thoughts?

 

[Dadatwins]

Staking is not an option. The trees in question are 20-40 feet in height with 3-5 inch trunks. Any further thoughts?

possible to select best specimans, reduce the tops so they stay upright and move from there? reducing the tops on a 3" tree to keep it upright should not cause that much long term damage. possible to post some pictures may be able to get a better idea of some options. Sounds like a bamboo field situation, the outer layers always fall over.