Should trees be staked? Promesse de Fleurs

“Should trees always be staked?” Now, that’s a good question! For a long time, the answer was quite clear: You plant a tree. You stake it. End of story. However, recent research suggests that trees may not always need it. Worse still! Some even argue that unstaked trees may actually establish better than their staked counterparts.

The reasons are numerous, but the first ones fall on the gardener themselves...

Be cautious when staking your trees!

You shouldn’t stake just any way, nor with any material! Here are the main mistakes to avoid:

driving the stake in like a brute through the root ball or even into the roots: when you decide to stake a young tree, avoid injuring the roots. Make sure to place the stake well outside the root ball! The easiest way is to place it before planting the tree.
using ties that can injure the bark of the young tree: only use natural materials if possible or “soft” materials for the bark! There are systems designed for this purpose, but rubber from old inner tubes is an excellent solution. Absolutely avoid wire or other rigid materials and don’t tighten too much! The tree should be supported but not strangled, so don’t hesitate to move and loosen the ties as it grows.
forgetting to remove the stake: I have personally removed dozens of old stakes from trees and shrubs in my garden that had been forgotten there for decades (and they were rusty metal bars tied with plastic string...). Never forget to remove your stake no later than a year after installation! If you wait longer, you risk injuring the tree's roots.

Staking is not always welcome

Recent studies have shown that securing a tree too firmly shortly after planting can sometimes be detrimental. Indeed, young trees need to move a bit in the wind. This allows them to create a very strong root system with roots that will anchor deeper into the soil.

Moreover, the tree will develop a thicker and more resilient trunk against various external threats. It will also produce more branches from a young age. Another proof that staking is not obligatory, quite the opposite.

To avoid staking, simply plant well! That is, properly set the root ball or roots at the bottom of the hole you’ve dug and compact the soil afterwards. If you do this, your tree won’t sway too much in the wind, and even if it seems a bit tilted in the first year, it’s very likely to straighten up later.

But staking can sometimes be necessary

Let’s not kid ourselves, staking can be necessary in certain circumstances:

if the ground has a slope worthy of the Beille plateau or the Aubisque pass: good staking will allow the tree to grow straight regardless of the slope.
if your garden is so wind-swept that you need to stake the gardener too
if you are planting a large specimen with a root system reduced compared to its branches, this is particularly the case for trees presented with bare roots. In this situation, your tree, if unstaked, will find itself like a person with a big head and small feet. It will topple at the slightest breeze!
if the “crown” is already high on a very (too!) thin trunk: this is a bit of a case-by-case situation, but sometimes you will quickly realise that if you don’t stake your young tree, it will break in two at the first gust (which can be good if you want a coppice). Always check at purchase that your tree is well balanced.

Oli's little note: if you are patient, frugal, or both like me, you can also adopt very young trees. They are obviously less expensive to buy but that’s not their only quality. Indeed, planting is a traumatic experience for a tree, especially if it has been uprooted from a nursery gauge. If planting is done in its early years, it will have a better chance of recovering. Moreover, a young tree will not have the root ball problem that can be found in container-grown specimens. It will also be less sensitive to the elements and better anchored in the soil. Lastly, it is also easier to plant and transport a small one-year-old than a large five-year-old specimen. Ultimately, we think we save time by planting already large trees, but young trees planted at the same time will soon catch up with their older siblings in size and spread while being less temperamental in their establishment.