Staking Trees the Right Way

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Robert Smaus

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Photo Credit: Robert Smaus

Support a young tree using flexible ties between two stakes on either side of the trunk.

The saddest sight in the garden world just might be badly staked trees. You’ve seen them – trees tied so tightly to a steel pipe that the tie, and part of the post, has disappeared inside the bark. Or a tree lying on its side – roots out of the ground – with a stake still attached to the trunk. Or a tree snapped in half after a stake was removed. And all because even some landscape professionals don’t know how to properly stake a tree.

Universities have devoted serious time to studying and experimenting with staking because it’s so important to the health of the public’s street trees, but their recommendations are seldom followed.

This may make the tree situation in your back yard sound hopeless, but it’s not! Though not a simple subject for professionals since there are so many variables, home gardeners usually deal with small trees, so staking is actually pretty straightforward.

Here’s how you do it:

First off, prepare to throw out any stake that came with the new tree in its pot. Leave it on until you’ve provided better, but don’t even consider keeping it – that stake was only intended for nursery use.

Instead, you want two stronger stakes. They should be long enough to reach the lowest part of the tree’s crown, with an added 18-24 inches, which will be pounded into the ground. Placed the stakes about 6-8 inches on either side of a smallish tree trunk (and further away if the trunk is thicker). For young trees planted in an area that’s protected from strong winds, a 1x1-inch wood stake will work fine. A young tree placed in a garden spot that gets stronger winds should have 2x2-inch stakes.

Tips

When using plastic tape to tie plants to stakes, don’t make simple loops between the stake and tree – put a twist or two in each loop, and the tape will be less likely to slide down the trunk.

Tools

Fancy spring-loaded ties (available at some nurseries) work well on thicker trunks, where garden tape might not be strong enough.

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