Saving a tipped over fir tree. - Ask Extension
After a snowstorm in Portland in March, we noticed that a small fir in our yard was leaning about 15 degrees. It was planted ~15 years ago. It had bee...
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Saving a tipped over fir tree. #825893
Asked April 16, 2023, 3:57 PM EDT
After a snowstorm in Portland in March, we noticed that a small fir in our yard was leaning about 15 degrees. It was planted ~15 years ago. It had been staked the whole time but was vertical. The trunk is 5-6” at the base. The soil at the base looks like saturated clay; the tree is located on a flat area at the bottom of a steep hill. We were able to straighten the tree up by pushing it by hand and pulling it with a rope. Once vertical, we secured the rope to a fence post. With this, the tree has stayed vertical for several weeks, but it's still easy to tilt at the base.
We’d like to save it because it was planted in honor of the death of my wife's father.
Can you advise us on an approach to stabilizing the tree?
Thanks
Multnomah County Oregon
Expert Response
Staking the tree to keep it vertical for the next growing season should give it a chance to re-anchor. With smaller trees, this can work. It might take a couple of years to grow enough to firm up and re-anchor, so it will be susceptible to other weather events. If there was too much root damage from tipping, it might struggle or not make it. But its worth a try. If it does survive and stabilize, you will want to gradually free it from the stakes so it becomes more self-supporting.
At this time, the soil is really wet mushy clay. In addition to what you recommended, would it make sense to drive/tamp some organic material or sand/gravel into the soil at or around the tree base to provide a better grip for the roots?
Thanks
I am not sure that soil amendments will improve the anchoring ability of the tree. If your soil is wet or poorly drained, fir trees may not thrive and will likely decline over the long term. If the tree has been healthy up to this point, that is a good sign. But limitations due to wet soils often show up later as trees grow to a size where the lack of well aerated soil becomes more limiting. If there were some options to improve actual soil drainage and aeration, that could help.
