Freeman maple: please grow straight! (or is it hopeless?)

[AndrewSmith]

Hi everyone

This is my new maple, planted a month ago. It looks good from this side:



But it's actually bent starting from about half way up the trunk, which you can clearly see from some angles:



I think it was bent like that when it arrived. My mind could be playing tricks on me, but it seems like it's bent in a slightly different direction every time I look at it, but generally towards south west.

Reading about steaking and straightening it seems that just doesn't work. Does that mean there's nothing I can do, and just wait to see how it ends up growing?

Perhaps I can train a new main trunk? This is what it looks like near the top. Could I snip one or two of these to encourage a vertical trunk?



I have an irrational dislike of trees that grow at an angle, I have another maple in the same yard growing at 10-15 degrees sideways and it annoys me every time I look at it

Thanks!

[AnnaIkona]

It is possible that the tree is leaning a certain way every day due to wind. This is most common in young trees as their stems are very thin and their roots have not yet developed.

Many people use stake supports. You can buy a tree stake support kit at a local home and garden store (normaly cost around $40) or you could simply make some stake supports yourself. Take some wooden beams and stick them into the ground about 3 ft away from the tree's stem. And then pull ropes around the tree and them tying them to the wooden beams.

Good luck!

[applestar]

I don't have a whole lot of experience with something like this, but here's what I'm seeing:

Maples tend to grow an opposite pair of branches with a central trunk or branch. I can see in the 2nd photo that just above the neighbor's black truck, one of the paired side branches have grown somewhat straight up... and comparing that photo with the third one, it seems to me that the side branch is trying to take over as the "leader" -- the shoot which has the tallest growing point.

In most plants and trees in particular, the tallest growing point achieves what is called "apical dominance" and is supplied with/(produces?) the most growth hormone and nutrients so that it becomes the fattest strongest limb.

In order for your tree not to end up with the bend due to the side branch being dominant, you need to cut that side branch or -- to maintain symmetry, you can simply tie down that shoot so it is no longer tallest -- keep this one and the opposite pair limb held down at the same height at the growing tip, but NOT as tall as the central trunk which you want to keep as the LEADER.

You can tie them down to the ground or simply hang something to keep them bowed down. Once the growing tips of those two side branches are kept at a lower height, the central trunk will regain its apical dominance and grow stronger and I think the tree will straighten. If there is already a kink or a bend , you can apply a splint to train the trunk into straightening before it hardens up -- I think this tree is young enough. You may not be able to straighten immediately, but by re-securing, tightening and straightening in stages as the tree grows thicker (don't let it get strangled) ...similar to espalier training technique.

BTW don't force the branches down too much or you may end up pulling them off. You only need the tips to bow down and be lowered.

[AndrewSmith]

Thanks for the advice, both of you!

applestar, I went and looked and I think you're exactly right! The branch on the north side is not only taller, but it's also thicker and stronger (harder to bend) then the one in the middle.

Perhaps I'll try to hang a fake birdhouse (as a weight) on both branches that I want to grow sideways, and support it with stakes? I'm worried that the tree already looks top-heavy so I'll probably use two stakes.

Does that sounds like it makes sense?

I actually don't need it to grow particularly tall, I planted it to block the living room window. So it worries me a little that there are so few branches in the middle of the trunk, looks like they are mostly at the top and a couple so low that I'll need to cut them eventually. Hopefully the tiny ones in the middle will keep developing and won't die over the winter!

Or would it be a reasonable option to try bend both side branches to grow sideways and cut off the middle one? Or is that pushing my luck?

[AndrewSmith]

Looks pretty good I think! I was lucky (didn't expect) to find really long plastic-covered metal stakes at Home Depot, hammered deept into the ground.

I hung a relatively small weight on the branch on the right, then took it off half an hour later, and interestingly it didn't rise all the way back up. It probably helps that the strap is going around it.



Hopefully I can take the ropes off before the season ends, I'd rather not keep it staked over the winter and into next season.

By the way - this is what I'm trying to prevent:



Not only is it tilted, but (you can't really see) there are lots of large branches that broke off on the left side, probably because the angle to the trunk was too great!

[ButterflyLady29]

It still wouldn't hurt to prune those 2 side branches back a bit. Maybe around a foot or so back. They'll keep competing with the main branch as long as they remain the same length.

[AndrewSmith]

It still wouldn't hurt to prune those 2 side branches back a bit. Maybe around a foot or so back. They'll keep competing with the main branch as long as they remain the same length.

Well, my only concern so far (and I'm obviusly new at this ) is that the tree was not growing straight, which seems to be fixed now (I guess I'll know for sure when I take the ropes off).

Are there other problems that extra competition might cause? If it results in the tree being bushier instead of taller - that would actually be a benefit, in fact I wonder how to make more of the lower branches grow bigger. So far it looks like most of the growth is going up.

If I snip them - will they continue to grow sideways instead? Or will that stop them from getting longer altogether?