22 ILLINOIS NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY CIRCULAR 51 



Bracing 



Most trees over 1 inch in trunk diameter must be braced with 

 stakes or guys to hold them in an upright position and prevent 

 loosening of the soil around the base of the trunk and drying out 

 of the roots. Such bracing is usually required during the first 

 year. One or two stakes are adequate for bracing trees less than 

 3 inches in trunk diameter. Trees can be braced with 2 x 2 or 

 similar wood stakes (Fig. 18), with light metal posts (Fig. 19), 

 or with guys (Fig. 20). Either two stakes placed on opposite 

 sides of a tree, or one stake or metal post placed on the side of 

 the prevailing winds (1 foot or so away from the tree and driven 

 into the ground 2 or 3 feet), may be used. To avoid injuring the 

 tree roots, set the stakes before the roots are covered with soil. 



Attach the tree to a stake with a soft rope or wire run 

 through a piece of hose (Fig. 19 and 20) or other suitable mate- 

 rial to avoid injury to the trunk. If the wire encircles the trunk 

 without such protection, it will girdle the trunk and is likely to 

 kill the tree (Fig. 21). Cross or ''figure eight" the rope, or twist 

 the wire between the stake and the tree, to prevent chafing of 

 the bark. 



Trees more than 3 inches in trunk diameter need three 

 stakes or three or four guys for adequate bracing. To brace with 

 three stakes, place the stakes at equal intervals around the tree 

 and 1 foot from the trunk. Brace the stakes with cleats, attached 

 4-6 inches below the tops of the stakes, to form a triangular struc- 

 ture connecting the three stakes. Attach the tree to the stakes 

 with soft rope or wire as described above. Trees planted with 

 large balls of soil may not need bracing. 



Guys for large trees consist of 3/16- to 14-inch, 7-strand 

 cable, or two strands of No. 9, or four strands of No. 10 or No. 12 

 galvanized steel wire, twisted. Attach the guys to the tree 

 through pieces of hose that encircle the trunk at a crotch or 

 through lag hooks equally spaced around the trunk. Place the 

 lag hooks 8-10 inches apart to avoid weakening of the trunk, and 

 in line with the deadmen (anchor pieces) to which they will be 

 attached. Locate the deadmen, which may be 4- by 6-inch pieces 

 of timber 4 feet long buried to a depth of 4 feet, or other suitable 

 anchor materials, at a distance from the tree so that the guys will 

 be at a 45-degree angle when twisted taut. In clay and nonrocky 

 soils, wing anchors 30 inches long or longer can be used in place 

 of deadmen. Examine the guys at regular intervals to see that 

 they are taut and that they are not injuring the trunk. 



