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We were thinking of planting a willow oak in our backyard for a shade tree. However, I suppose I am worried about the tree leaning. There is a very l...
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Tree planting question #777001
Asked November 02, 2021, 1:26 PM EDT
We were thinking of planting a willow oak in our backyard for a shade tree. However, I suppose I am worried about the tree leaning. There is a very large arborvitae hedge on the property line (easily 35-40 ft tall... taller than our house) that can shade certain areas in the afternoon. I know willow oaks can get quite large and don't want it to grow all lopsided or lean away from the arborvitae because I don't think it's realistic for the arborvitae hedge to live as long as the oak. We are trying to work with the neighboring apartment complex to have the arborvitae hedge trimmed (hasn't been done in years) as another ice storm is likely to see some damage to the things we have underplanted. The arborist had estimated they maybe could take 10 feet off the trees. Do you think leaning will occur regardless? If the oak leans away from the arborvitae will it straighten up when older? The tree is going to be planted on the SW part of our yard and would still get mostly full sun (and be easily +25 ft away from the arborvitae) - but it would be shaded earlier in the day than the other trees more on the SE side of our property just d/t shadow cast from arborvitae. The arborvitae are also sort of downhill from the potential oak (since we live in a tiered neighborhood), so root competition with arborvitae I'm not as concerned about. Thanks so much! Enclosed are two pictures of the arborvitae hedge (one from from yard, one from side yard... it would be planted further back in the backyard.
Multnomah County Oregon
Expert Response
Hello,
I would not recommend topping the arborvitae hedge. It just won't look as good moving forward. They regrow slowly. Damaged branches should be cut back to the base.
Your newly planted oak tree might lean a bit toward the sun if the hedge is to the south of where you plant it.
Use tree stakes in the first year to make sure it grows straight.
After that, use pruning methods to select a central leader that points a touch away from the hedge (north side of the tree).
Prune the tree to look like figure 5 in this publication: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/crop-production/fruit-trees/tree-pruning-basics
I would not recommend topping the arborvitae hedge. It just won't look as good moving forward. They regrow slowly. Damaged branches should be cut back to the base.
Your newly planted oak tree might lean a bit toward the sun if the hedge is to the south of where you plant it.
Use tree stakes in the first year to make sure it grows straight.
After that, use pruning methods to select a central leader that points a touch away from the hedge (north side of the tree).
Prune the tree to look like figure 5 in this publication: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/crop-production/fruit-trees/tree-pruning-basics
