What am I doing wrong with these young trees?

[Justin Peer]

Five years ago, we planted about a thousand native broadleaf trees in areas around the farm. They were supplied with tree guards and stakes because we get a lot of deer through here in North Devon. Over the years we've had a few trees fall over when the occasional stake has broken and I've replaced them, usually with something a bit beefier. 

This year though, with the storms over the winter we've had far more going over and it's getting expensive restaking everything. The supplied stakes were square hardwood and just don't seem to have been up to the job. Last week I had about twenty go over in the high winds we've just had, probably because the trees are now putting a fair amount of leaf on and that's acting like a sail. 

I've read that you should take the guards off after about 5 years but the trees just don't seem strong enough to stand up on their own if they're falling over when the stakes snap. I'm now wondering if I should have taken them off earlier and let them build more strength through movement in the wind or if that would just mean they'd all keel over and I'd lose the lot. 

 

in the nearby forestry plantation, there's a band of broadleaf that were planted around the edge of the conifer plantation and those guards were just left and gradually the trees burst through them, no idea if that's a healthy way for the trees to be left. If I were to do that I'd have to restake quite a lot of our trees with new stakes. Aternatively I could remove the guards and stake them with new stakes and proper tree straps which might allow them more movement to build up strength than just being in the guards. However, a new 50mm 1.8m stake is about £6 and a decent tree strap is about £4 so that's £10 per tree, and we have a thousand of them, so that would be a very expensive option.

I'd appreciate any input from those more knowledgable about these matters or suggestions on how best to deal with this going forward. Meanwhile I've just ordered another ten stakes and straps for when the next few go over as it's due to be windy in a couple of days.

https://imgur.com/a/83GJ4hN

 

 

[waterbuoy]

Are you putting the replacement stakes in vertically or at an angle?  We tend to stake at 45 degrees about 3' above ground level when/if the trees are large enough.

 

Photos might help people understand the problem a bit more (edit - just seen the link to be clicked)

Edited yesterday at 10:09 by waterbuoy

[Dan Maynard]

If you're restaking, may I suggest a few wraps of sisal rope rather than tree straps - loose O then across the middle to make an 8. No plastic pollution when they're done and they naturally relax and fall to bits rather than strangle the tree over a few years.

 

Also cheap as chips.

[Stere]

Its the guards plus stakes which  have  caused  problems were they  larger trees which is imo  a bad idea for such large volume plantings?

 

 

 

 

If your stake is attached low down as possible  so top tree can move in the wind the  trees will develop alot better root anchoring but then this would not support the guards.....

 

 

 

If staked low by the time the stakes fail trees will hopefully  have anchored its self....

 

 

I once made alot of stakes from free larch sawmill offcuts

 

 

 

 

 

Edited yesterday at 10:38 by Stere

[Tree monkey 1682]

2 hours ago, Justin Peer said:

Five years ago, we planted about a thousand native broadleaf trees in areas around the farm. They were supplied with tree guards and stakes because we get a lot of deer through here in North Devon. Over the years we've had a few trees fall over when the occasional stake has broken and I've replaced them, usually with something a bit beefier. 

This year though, with the storms over the winter we've had far more going over and it's getting expensive restaking everything. The supplied stakes were square hardwood and just don't seem to have been up to the job. Last week I had about twenty go over in the high winds we've just had, probably because the trees are now putting a fair amount of leaf on and that's acting like a sail. 

I've read that you should take the guards off after about 5 years but the trees just don't seem strong enough to stand up on their own if they're falling over when the stakes snap. I'm now wondering if I should have taken them off earlier and let them build more strength through movement in the wind or if that would just mean they'd all keel over and I'd lose the lot. 

 

in the nearby forestry plantation, there's a band of broadleaf that were planted around the edge of the conifer plantation and those guards were just left and gradually the trees burst through them, no idea if that's a healthy way for the trees to be left. If I were to do that I'd have to restake quite a lot of our trees with new stakes. Aternatively I could remove the guards and stake them with new stakes and proper tree straps which might allow them more movement to build up strength than just being in the guards. However, a new 50mm 1.8m stake is about £6 and a decent tree strap is about £4 so that's £10 per tree, and we have a thousand of them, so that would be a very expensive option.

I'd appreciate any input from those more knowledgable about these matters or suggestions on how best to deal with this going forward. Meanwhile I've just ordered another ten stakes and straps for when the next few go over as it's due to be windy in a couple of days.

https://imgur.com/a/83GJ4hN

 

 

Having tree guards isn't always great either, not only do the young trees compete with grass, but if u don't manage the grass, grass grows in the tree guard and you get vole damage  because there not being picked off by birds of prey... 

[Stubby]

Staking too high does not allow the tree to move with the wind . Moving with the wind also promotes reaction wood making the trunk stronger I have been told .