CHAPTER VIII 

 STAKING OR OTHER MEANS OF SUPPORT. 



THE artificial support of trees is mainly a concomitant of transplanting. 

 Trees grown on without removal from the spot where the seed was sown, 

 or even those given permanent places when quite young, rarely need 

 support. It is the tree that has attained a considerable size and then 

 been torn from its anchorage that requires artificial assistance to withstand 

 storms. The sooner a tree, and to a less extent, a shrub, is given its 

 permanent place the better, consistent with its safety and capability of 

 holding its own among other plants. 



A tree, say 6 ft. or more high, planted in an exposed position must 

 often be given support, unless it has been shifted with a heavy mass of 

 soil Attached to its roots. If the plant has been removed without soil, 

 the usual support is afforded by a stake proportionate in length and 

 thickness to the main stem of the tree, and driven firmly into the ground. 

 Some regard must be paid to the avoidance of injury to the roots in 

 driving in the stake. It must be well sharpened, so that it forces its way 

 between the roots a little distance from the stem, rather than crushes 

 through them. It is an excellent plan to drive in the stake before the 

 tree is planted and arrange the roots around it. It is only necessary, 

 especially if the soil has been trenched deeply, to see that in the inevitable 

 settling of the soil the ties do not cause the tree to be suspended 

 rather than settle naturally with the soil. 



A stake should not go any higher than necessary. It is by no means 

 an object of beauty, and should be as unobtrusive as possible. The chief 

 aim is to keep the stem perfectly steady at the base until the roots 

 themselves are capable of doing it. If a newly planted tree is allowed to 

 sway about so that the base of its stem forms a socket in the soil, its 

 progress will be slow and its appearance ungainly. A short, stout 

 stake standing 3 ft. out of the ground will prevent this better than a longer 

 thin one. (The use of a stake for straightening the crooked stem of a 

 young tree by bracing the two together is a quite different object.) Some 

 soft or elastic substance should be inserted between the tying material 



