Q.
I have a tree that was staked and now the wires used in staking it are starting
to strangle the tree trunk.
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| Staking trees are for a number of reasons. Make sure the stakes are removed after one year, two at the most. |
A.
That’s a common problem on large, staked trees planted in home landscapes. It’s
a gamble on the wind whether to stake or not to stake. I encourage people to
stake nearly all plants. It’s cheap insurance. On smaller 5-gallon plants (sometimes
even 15-gallon shrubs) the small, square, green nursery stake found in the
container may be adequate if cut loose from the plant, driven or pushed into
the moist, solid ground beneath the plant. Retie the plant when you’re finished.
Always have some half-inch, stretchable green nursery tape on hand. It’s very useful.
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| If trees are smaller when planting there is no reason to use big stakes. The purpose of staking is primarily to keep the roots from moving until the tree gets established and its roots can keep it from blowing over in the wind. |
The purpose of staking any plant is to
keep new roots from being damaged during establishment. The movement of roots usually
happens during strong winds. Planting in wet planting holes and amending the backfilled
desert soil may get around the use of stakes with smaller plants. Use your
judgement.
Typically staking is only needed for one
growing season and then removed. One growing season is all that is needed to
establish plant roots in the surrounding soil and make the plant secure against
wind.
Some homeowners may think the reason for
staking is to hold the tree upright. That’s only partially true. On occasion
more than one growing season of staking may be needed when planting trees grown
too close to each other in wholesale or production nurseries. In cases like
these, metal ties are loosened and then retightened at the end of each growing
season to prevent “choking the trunk” as seen in your picture. Remember, plants
grow in two dimensions; length AND girth. Sometimes excessively tall and weak plants
must be pruned smaller to encourage new, stronger growth.
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| Staking is sometimes needed particularly to protect the plant from blowing over and stabilizing the roots. |
The proper way to stake a tree is to allow
the canopy and trunk of the tree to move but not its roots. Movement of a tree’s
trunk allows it to gain taper (become stronger) as it grows in size. Trunk
taper may or may not be missing because of production nursery practices.
Properly grown trees have a tapered trunk as you look at it from top to bottom.