Expert: Jim Hyland - 10/18/2009

Question
My Ash Tree has fallen over in northern California in current wind storm.  It look like the main root cracked off in fall.  Tree is still alive.  Will it survive and re root itself if we try and re stand it? The tree is about 10 years old and was a beautiful part of our house..

Answer
It will be a hard job to re stand it but it would be worth it. The damage will depend on the amount of roots that were broken and this can really not be determined since thwt are under ground. You can assum the roots on the side away from the fallen tree were broken but the other side should be ok. You will need to cable the tree so it will continue to stand until the roots have regrown.

There's no easy way to fix a large tree that's leaning, other than to pull it upright and stake it to something very solid if you can. To get it upright, try getting a coupld of people to pull on a rope wrapped around the trunk. If that doesn't work, maybe try the winch on a truck. If it's too big and you can't get it fully upright, you may be out of luck!



Remember, when staking, be sure to protect the bark of the tree by wrapping the staking wire in a soft material. Use a length of vinyl hose that's long enough so that the wire never touches the bark. Also have seen people use thin radiator hose, which works just fine. Whatever you use, it has to be soft and pliable.


Once you straighten a tree, it's a good idea to stake it. Drive a couple of wood stakes on the side of each tree. Then run wire or rope from the stakes and wrap it loosely around the trunk about two-thirds of the way up. To protect the bark against chafe, cover the wire or rope with scrap pieces of garden hose. You shouldn't let your trees become too attached to their stakes. Unstaked trees develop stronger root systems than those with artificial supports. I would leave the stake fro a year to give the roots time to grow back.