advice with newly transplanted colorado blue spruce

[mauro]

I am new to this forum. sorry if this is a repeat.

I just planted some (6) colorado blue spruce trees. all are about 7-8 ft tall. 4 are have nice straight trunks. 2 have a bit of a curve starting right at the ground and then straighten up as they go up.

my question is, should they be positioned to be straight based on the top (or lets say middle) of the trunk, or the bottom of the trunk? They look better now being positioned with the tops straight with a bit of a curve coming up from the ground. is this the best thing for them long term? am i making too big a deal out of straightening them?

other question is: one is a bit more difficult to straighten from the the root ball now that it is in. is it ok to pull the trunk a bit with a wire and stake? of course with wire in a rubber hose on the trunk so it doesn't do damage etc...


also any advice on staking in general? i have read some people say you should stake them for the first year, others say dont stake them at all. thoughts on this?

thanks in advance,
Mauro

mauro edit:
lots of views, no replies. is this the wrong forum? should i post in the nursery one?

 

[ch woodchuck]

Pics are always helpful in finding an answer...

positioned with the tops straight...Makes more sense in my view.Over a period of growth,your eye will less likely to see the lower trunk,and more likely to see the entire tree.

 

[fffrosty72]

We try not to stake any new trees, but we buy smaller trees. It really depends on the size of the tree and the amount of wind it will be exposed to, and the size of the rootball too. We planted on 15' maple with no stakes, but it had a huge rootball.

Judgement call.

 

[mauro]

thanks for the replies. i will get some pics up.

trees are about 8ft tall. root balls were about 3 ft diameter by 2 ft deep. some of the root balls were kinda full of gravel so started to fall apart a bit as i started to position them. not sure if that matters. One tree needs to be pulled about 1-2 inch at about 5 ft up to get it straight. I think i'll stake that one just to make myself happy. will pulling the tree with a stake a little get it to settle straight or am i just doing damage?

i tried moving the root ball, but i'm worried about messing with the roots too much now that its in.