Prognosis needed on Loblolly in MD

[steve malan]

I was hoping you could examine my enclosed photos.  Loblolly pine is my favorite tree an I have planted a series of them as a backdrop to a native plant meadow about 10 miles south of the MD/PA border.   The trees are planted a bit far north of their native range in Maryland.  They are also planted on a clay/mineral type soil.  The trees were planted in 2006 with smaller than desired root ball size and range in size from 9-20 ft.  Against the hardwood tree line, they have tended to develop branching on all sides but the back. Otherwise, the growth rate of the candles was acceptable and they put on caliper and height...3 years of Snow and ice loads have caused the collapse... I know i've made a bad choice, but I wanted to have the species on my property.

My questions are:  What is your 10-15 year projection for the pictured trees?

                                Do bent trees such as mine still provide wildlife value?

                                Will the trees try to straighten up over time, or does the severe bend cause problems?

thank you very much for your time. I really appreciate it

Steve Malan

Entomologist

Maryland Department of Agriculture

[Rebecca Hargrave]

Steve,

I would stake or guy the trees back up. They will correct themselves naturally over time, but generally they will have a crook in the stem; you can correct that by staking/guying them. And, most of them are small enough that they can be guyed/staked easily.

Attach guying/staking material at 1/2-2/3 of the way up the stem. You can read about materials and techniques in the great Minnesota pub: http://www.myminnesotawoods.umn.edu/2008/12/staking-and-guying-tree.... Once the tree has been corrected you'll want to remove the support system as it could prevent the tree from gaining much diameter, then you'll be right back where you started.

I don't know much about loblolly's ability to withstand snow loads, but even after the tree is corrected you may want to loosely stake the trees to keep that from happening again (or just stake them in the winter for a few more years). Just be sure to check the system every year to make sure it's loose and the attachments aren't girdling the tree. Once they build more girth they should stop bending over.

Bent trees still provide wildlife value, but they may not perform entirely as you'd like.

I applaud your effort to try them. You may be ahead of the climate change curve!

[steve malan]

thanks so much for your help.  you're right, I was ahead of the climate change curve..maybe i should have planted palms!!!