# Make them grow straight



## jamiedolan (Sep 2, 2008)

cprao said:


> I have 2 maple trees currently gowing .. and I want them to grow straight.. (I have 2 other maple grows.. they are not straight and now they are too big).. How can I do that ?
> 
> I currently tied them with the rope around the branches.. what is the best way of making them grow straight..
> 
> ...


What do you mean by making them grow straight? The trees in the photo are grown more as a bush (as it is many small trees together) with many branches from the ground. A tree is normally 1 trunk from the ground.

Jamie


----------



## cprao (Oct 26, 2009)

jamiedolan said:


> What do you mean by making them grow straight? The trees in the photo are grown more as a bush (as it is many small trees together) with many branches from the ground. A tree is normally 1 trunk from the ground.
> 
> Jamie


Well. I am sure I didn't put my question right. I have 2 other maple trees they did not go straight. I meant, after the trunck the main branch did not go up but bent towards the ground and into my backyard. I want this to go up straight. Does this make any sense to you ?


----------



## jamiedolan (Sep 2, 2008)

cprao said:


> Well. I am sure I didn't put my question right. I have 2 other maple trees they did not go straight. I meant, after the trunck the main branch did not go up but bent towards the ground and into my backyard. I want this to go up straight. Does this make any sense to you ?


So are you talking about pruning these tree - bushes out and just leaving one tree, and you want to make sure that tree grows up straight?

Jamie


----------



## cprao (Oct 26, 2009)

jamiedolan said:


> So are you talking about pruning these tree - bushes out and just leaving one tree, and you want to make sure that tree grows up straight?
> 
> Jamie


Yes. I wan to make sure the tree grows up straight. As you said, in this case there were many small trees. All these small trees grown from the trunk (There was a tree, I cut it last year since it was fallin on backyard). 
I though it was died.. but appearently it didn't.


----------



## jamiedolan (Sep 2, 2008)

cprao said:


> All these small trees grown from the trunk


In this photo, I drew lines were I can see at least 3 different trees growing from the ground. I am sure these are all tied in together below ground at some point.








If you want this to grow like a tree, then you are going to need to remove these extra trees, leaving the best looking one. It doesn't really matter how connected they are now, they are obviously too low to ever be meaningful branches on the tree its self.

Once you trim out the excess trees / branches if the one that is left isn't straight, then you can work on straightening it. You can use something like a dowel or a bamboo steak, and tie it to the part of the tree that needs to be straightened with something flexible like a nylon stocking. Make sure to watch it frequently as it grows, so the stocking or the dowel doesn't grow into the tree, if you just leave it long term, the tree will eventually get girdled and die. You will likely be able to remove the steak by next spring, maybe sooner, all you can do is try it, and check it in a couple months and see if it is straightened out. 

Jamie


----------



## cprao (Oct 26, 2009)

jamiedolan said:


> In this photo, I drew lines were I can see at least 3 different trees growing from the ground. I am sure these are all tied in together below ground at some point.
> View attachment 22237
> 
> 
> ...


Thank you for pointing those addttional trees. I am sure there are more than three trees in this bush. So basically you want me to identify the good looking one and cut the remaining trees. Then make sure the good looking one is growing straight (using the above technique). 

Am I getting the point ?


----------



## cprao (Oct 26, 2009)

cprao said:


> Thank you for pointing those addttional trees. I am sure there are more than three trees in this bush. So basically you want me to identify the good looking one and cut the remaining trees. Then make sure the good looking one is growing straight (using the above technique).
> 
> Am I getting the point ?


Ok. I cut down some of the addittional trees. Temporarily tied the straight looks tree with rope. Eventulay replace this rope with bamboo steak or something like that..

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv352/Forex101/Back yard - last stretch/P7040365.jpg
http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv352/Forex101/Back yard - last stretch/P7040366.jpg
http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv352/Forex101/Back yard - last stretch/P7040367.jpg
http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv352/Forex101/Back yard - last stretch/P7040368.jpg


----------



## jamiedolan (Sep 2, 2008)

cprao said:


> Ok. I cut down some of the addittional trees. Temporarily tied the straight looks tree with rope. Eventulay replace this rope with bamboo steak or something like that..


This is a smaller tree, but it was very bent. It is tied on with velcro straps:








You may have to use something stronger like a piece of metal conduit to tie those up to. You may still need to cut back some more to give you enough room to work, to put in steaks and tie up the trees.

I would try and do that fairly soon, once they get much larger, they will be more difficult to impossible to get straight. 

Jamie


----------



## cprao (Oct 26, 2009)

jamiedolan said:


> This is a smaller tree, but it was very bent. It is tied on with velcro straps:
> View attachment 22241
> 
> 
> ...


Excellent. Thank you very much for your visual display. very much helps. I will do it soon.


----------

