New tree estimate/help?

[Aaron3018]

I planted this ~3 yr old, ~7 foot Oak tree on the 30th of July. I probably should have waited until it was dormant, but I'm new to this so didn't realise there could be issues with transplanting in the summer.

 

Questions is, by looking at it, do you think the tree will survive and do you have any suggestions about things that look wrong/things I should change. Pics were taken today after watering. Thanks in advance.

[openspaceman]

It looks like it was potted with a decent root ball, no reason it won't keep growing if you maintain the watering regime though the top may be wilting.

 

You will need to choose a leader and reduce the other but wait till end of summer and see how it looks

[Aaron3018]

9 minutes ago, openspaceman said:

It looks like it was potted with a decent root ball, no reason it won't keep growing if you maintain the watering regime though the top may be wilting.

 

You will need to choose a leader and reduce the other but wait till end of summer and see how it looks

Thanks, is wilting at the top a sign that the tree hasn't been watered enough and what does it mean to choose a leader? 

[Mick Dempsey]

As my old boss used to say ‘it’s got two chances’

 

Dont let it dry out too much this first year, and in hot spells next summer.

 

Keep the grass away from the base (so the new roots aren’t competing)

A lot of shrubs will wilt immediately after planting till they get themselves settled, though I don’t see any wilting tbh.

Chose which one of those two highest stems you want to be the dominant one and remove the other.

 

Lets hope in a hundred years time someone is wondering who planted this massive oak in a back garden.

Edited August 11, 2020 by Mick Dempsey

[Aaron3018]

16 minutes ago, Mick Dempsey said:

As my old boss used to say ‘it’s got two chances’

 

Dont let it dry out too much this first year, and in hot spells next summer.

 

Keep the grass away from the base (so the new roots aren’t competing)

A lot of shrubs will wilt immediately after planting till they get themselves settled, though I don’t see any wilting tbh.

Chose which one of those two highest stems you want to be the dominant one and remove the other.

 

Lets hope in a hundred years time someone is wondering who planted this massive oak in a back garden.

Thanks, so the leader is the dominant stem I want to grow upwards. I noticed at the tree nursery they attached some bamboo to one of the stems to make it grow upwards, but I removed that when planting. What would happen if I didn't remove the lesser stem? 

Edited August 11, 2020 by Aaron3018

[Aaron3018]

11 minutes ago, Mick Dempsey said:

It may well develop into a twin leader, meaning two main stems (co-dominant in Technical speak)

 

Like that it would be more vulnerable to splitting in two (much) later on.

Right, so cut off the lesser stem in late fall then. Would the leader have to be artificially held upwards like they did with the bamboo stick? 

[Mick Dempsey]

Probably not.

[openspaceman]

49 minutes ago, Aaron3018 said:

Right, so cut off the lesser stem in late fall then. Would the leader have to be artificially held upwards like they did with the bamboo stick? 

You actually don't have to cut the lesser stem off, just shortening it will mean the desirable one  will out  perform and suppress it.

 

As @Mick Dempsey has said allowing grass around the base means the grass benefits more from the watering than the tree, don't strim the grass as not only does cut grass become more competitive for water but plastic line frapping  young tree bark  is a very major cause of their early demise.

 

You said "in the fall" I suspect you are not in UK?

[Aaron3018]

39 minutes ago, openspaceman said:

You actually don't have to cut the lesser stem off, just shortening it will mean the desirable one  will out  perform and suppress it.

 

As @Mick Dempsey has said allowing grass around the base means the grass benefits more from the watering than the tree, don't strim the grass as not only does cut grass become more competitive for water but plastic line frapping  young tree bark  is a very major cause of their early demise.

 

You said "in the fall" I suspect you are not in UK?

Right, thanks. So cutting it by half would do? Out of interest, how much of that tree would you prune? I've seen some people say everything below half way which seemed a bit much to me, but I've no idea really. Yeah, we have stopped cutting the grass near to the tree and yeah, I'm in the UK now

[openspaceman]

29 minutes ago, Aaron3018 said:

Right, thanks. So cutting it by half would do?

Probably not even that much, when I was weeding through plantations I would just snap one leader and leave the tree to get on with it.

29 minutes ago, Aaron3018 said:

 

Out of interest, how much of that tree would you prune? I've seen some people say everything below half way which seemed a bit much to me, but I've no idea really.

 

It depends what you want from the tree, at the moment it's feathered with full furnish to the ground, in a forest the side branches would become suppressed and die off but an open grown tree is happy to grow coarse and knotty because it's not competing for light. In forestry we would aim to thin such that the remaining trees always had 40% of their length with live wood but below that ideally there should be no branch remains outside of a 4" core, with clear timber laid after that.

 

In a garden it's different but if left fully furnished as it becomes mature sure as eggs eventually someone will come along with a chainsaw and lop lower branches off (because they get in the way of the mower etc.) leaving wounds so large they nearly ringbark the tree.  I like to see them pruned to 20ft if they are to be pruned and done before any branches are over 1" so the wounds occlude quickly

 

 

[Aaron3018]

3 hours ago, openspaceman said:

Probably not even that much, when I was weeding through plantations I would just snap one leader and leave the tree to get on with it.

It depends what you want from the tree, at the moment it's feathered with full furnish to the ground, in a forest the side branches would become suppressed and die off but an open grown tree is happy to grow coarse and knotty because it's not competing for light. In forestry we would aim to thin such that the remaining trees always had 40% of their length with live wood but below that ideally there should be no branch remains outside of a 4" core, with clear timber laid after that.

 

In a garden it's different but if left fully furnished as it becomes mature sure as eggs eventually someone will come along with a chainsaw and lop lower branches off (because they get in the way of the mower etc.) leaving wounds so large they nearly ringbark the tree.  I like to see them pruned to 20ft if they are to be pruned and done before any branches are over 1" so the wounds occlude quickly

 

 

The stem on the left looks far more sloppy so I'll probably cut that one, do you think the other branches marked in red would be worth cutting too or doesn't matter?