What’s the best way to stake a low branched tree?

There are lots of different methods to plant a tree correctly and many of these can be modified to suit specific conditions and awkward specimens. Low crowned trees, sometimes known as feathered trees, are tricky as the branches can get in the way of the stakes. I visited one of our customers this week who had done a terrific job in planting an avenue of our Carpinus betulus Fastigiata around a sports pitch in Uppingham, Rutland. The stakes were installed at a slight angle away from the root system so that when they were fastened to the tree the tie pulled them into a vertical position and not pointing inwards towards the stem. This avoids any chance of damage later on down the line. He also put in three stakes making it very unlikely that a grass cutter could damage the stem of the tree in the summer. The mulch was pulled away from the collar of the tree and he marked the base of the stem with a blue line for the planting crew to get the planting depth spot on. Please click here for further information The stakes were short, two foot out of the ground and two foot in. A feathered tree has more stability than a full standard tree as the low branches act as wind diffusers and give the tree a lower point of gravity. All in all a great job done, well thought through and very well executed. I have no reason to think why these trees establishment shouldn’t be a complete success.

So often I see stakes put in without a thought process of what’s trying to be achieved. Stakes are to keep the tree solidly stable, not the other way round! We have produced a short video detailing how we like our trees to be planted and if they are done in this way you can expect nothing else but success! Please click here to watch the video.
One of our sales guys went to a site today and saw the reverse of this. He was called in to give his verdict on a line of Betula Jacquemontii that had failed from last season. They were not ours thank goodness but they could have been, with the result the same. The trees were planted far too deep, suffocating the stem and putting the root system far too deep down into the soil profile. At this depth the roots are in a saturated layer of soil devoid of oxygen. So easy to get it wrong but also so easy to get it right!!

For any further advise on planting a tree, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.