Leaning weeping beech tree. What to do?

[mattyboy]

Customer has 20 year old weeping beech tree. Its health and vigour are generally good but it is leaning more to one side and customer says its getting worse.

 

I guess a weeping beech is supposed to sag and lean a bit but is putting some sort of prop best to do or tie it to stop leaning any further? My concern with doing something like this is that it will not be a long term solution as it grows with this support it will only become less able to stand by itself if you follow?

[Steve Bullman]

Is it actually getting worse or is the customer just paranoid? Any signs of the rootplate shifting?

[Goaty]

They can be dominantly one sided. With a bit of work it could be coaxed with canes and string to bring the other side up.

When grown on nurseries from small plants they droop and are caned to get the height. Often they can stop at the height they were last tied to and just bulk up.

Bend a few pieces up and train them. Hopefully the higher pieces will take apical dominance. The best time is early summer when new growth is supple. They will snap more readily than normal beech.

 

 

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[Kveldssanger]

Weeping beech specimens will generally layer as they age. Ensure they have a vast area to grow within, therefore. One weeping beech will eventually become a mini-copse of layered trees.

[Beardie]

You say it is 20 years old, but how tall is it? And what is it likely to hit if it falls?

[Adam M]

The layering illustrated here on Fagus sylvatica 'Asplenfolia'. Parent stem long dead yet it lives on. Compaction is a problem here and I had recommended mulching but fell on deaf ears.