jomoco
Tree Freak
Growing trees from seeds n seedlings is common to commercial nurseries, however their staking methods vary to a degree that's detrimental in too many outlets, IME.
They vary from a single stake straight jacket, where the trunk couldn't bend if it wanted to bound so tightly to the stake, to more proper two n three stakes, correctly spaced, and attached to the trunks with some form of elastic, stretchable flexible material, like rubber strips.
Now I'm no nurseryman who's propagated thousands of trees from seeds, but I have done one from seed, a Floss Silk Tree, Chorisia speciosa, and currently a Golden Medallion Tree, Cassia leptophyla seedling, from a nursery that abused it by tying it tightly to a single stake, for far too long, resulting in a skinny little trunk, ready to break in the slightest breeze.
My first successful from seed, to kitchen table to wind protected patio, to full wind exposure Floss Silk Tree, used an overhead rope support method that worked like a charm.
Once in a two gallon container, simply placing it directly below an overhead rope about ten to twelve feet above the container, and tethering to it with an 1/8 inch cord with an inline limited throw spring, allowed the seedling to bend n flex quite naturally in the wind, without ever bending past the breaking point. Trunk girth increased far more rapidly, and within the first year, sufficiently enough to no longer need assistance, even in a stout high wind.
After all a tree nursery is a highly controlled environment, that ideally would benefit from the sale of pre wind hardened trees in containers, with trunks of sufficient girth to adapt to any environment?
Below's a pic of the Golden Medallion containerized seedling being wind toughened using my overhead support technique currently.
Jomoco
They vary from a single stake straight jacket, where the trunk couldn't bend if it wanted to bound so tightly to the stake, to more proper two n three stakes, correctly spaced, and attached to the trunks with some form of elastic, stretchable flexible material, like rubber strips.
Now I'm no nurseryman who's propagated thousands of trees from seeds, but I have done one from seed, a Floss Silk Tree, Chorisia speciosa, and currently a Golden Medallion Tree, Cassia leptophyla seedling, from a nursery that abused it by tying it tightly to a single stake, for far too long, resulting in a skinny little trunk, ready to break in the slightest breeze.
My first successful from seed, to kitchen table to wind protected patio, to full wind exposure Floss Silk Tree, used an overhead rope support method that worked like a charm.
Once in a two gallon container, simply placing it directly below an overhead rope about ten to twelve feet above the container, and tethering to it with an 1/8 inch cord with an inline limited throw spring, allowed the seedling to bend n flex quite naturally in the wind, without ever bending past the breaking point. Trunk girth increased far more rapidly, and within the first year, sufficiently enough to no longer need assistance, even in a stout high wind.
After all a tree nursery is a highly controlled environment, that ideally would benefit from the sale of pre wind hardened trees in containers, with trunks of sufficient girth to adapt to any environment?
Below's a pic of the Golden Medallion containerized seedling being wind toughened using my overhead support technique currently.
Jomoco
