Sometimes I think they go out of their way to make sure their trees are as crooked as possible. I got a peach tree 2 years ago that looks like half of a parabola. This guy looks like they cut the upright branch. Just had to vent a little.
Hard to say from here, but it looks to me like that’s a bud graft, so they put a single bud at that location and cut the rootstock above it to get it to grow.
Yah, I Believe @jcguarneri is spot on.
There are ways to correct this in a nursery, but take extra effort , ( expenses).
I don’t see this as a big issue., on this tree.
Think of it as “ hey ., it has some character .
Opinions at this point , …
Plant so that it’s pointed more upright.
Tie it to a bamboo stake with a soft cloth, to straighten it.
Lean , or cock your head to one side when you look at it.
Think of it as a good ,possible location ,of the graft union, that you will easily be able to keep track of.
Don’t worry much about it .
I’ve had several from Cummins Nursery much more crooked than that.
My ‘Triumph’ angled out about 50degrees!
I cut it off to just a couple inches and am still
trying to get it to put a limb up instead of out.
Fact is, your quince is about the straightest tree I’ve ever gotten from Cummins.
The only really outstanding trees in the past decade came from Trees of Antiquity.
But Fedco and Albemarle Cider not too bad.
My favorite one!
Yah, that’s what I would do…
When I bought my Belle of Georgia peach tree at a local nursery it looked like a longbow without a string. As the caliper got thicker it straightened out on its own since they grow toward the light.
Hey, looks pretty straight to me! Could be easily staked, one of the possible courses of action offered by @Hillbillyhort; I personally wouldn’t bother. Trees are living things; they’re bound to have kinks and imperfections. As long as it does not affect health or growth or production, no biggie. As a tree gets older odd angles and other “baroque” features can actually create a picturesque impression. Some purposefully cultivate a “wabi-sabi” aesthetic in plants.
You know, this reminds me of a Poe story—think it was “The Domain of Arnheim”—in which a man attempts to best nature by creating a landscape of perfect, absolute beauty. . . It’s been a while, but I’m pretty sure he went mad.
(Edit: Well, I rather misremembered that story. Memory sure is a deceitful thing.)
That’d be akin to the man in the clock shop trying to get all his clocks to chime at the same time …
Yah, should have mentioned , kinky.
Some people like that …
It’s a thing !
I would go with the tilt it slightly approach upon planting. Just to avoid the potential for the whole thing leaning and having to stake more in the future. A wonky shaped trunk is fun.
I’ve been known to I intentionally plant trees at angles to get tilt. The coolest old trees are not the ones with straight trunks.
Bumping this thread. I have a similar issue and want to know what people are thinking still. Is the consensus to just plant it with the rootstock straight and the crooked/leaning portion at an angle, or the reverse?
My GoldRush here is pretty crooked and it’s on M7 which I have read is prone to leaning over or even falling.
I agree with those that have said the misshapen trunk adds character, but I want to avoid potential catastrophe in the future. What do y’all think?
Is there a a rule that say rootstock must be planted plumb? I’ve angled a few to get the graft as plumb as possible. I understand its not ideal, but so far I haven’t had any trees die because of it.
This Luscious pear I W&T grafted has broke bud. Will i try and straighten it with a piece of bamboo stake or something? Nah… everything below the black treecoat is rootstock. I’ll bury the rootstock at an angle so the graft grows near plumb. The root stock wont be seen anyways because it’ll be underground.
Most nurseries are giving you too little space between the graft and soil line to be doing much changes.
Best bet is to simply stake the tree. This is a practice that should be followed with all new transplants anyway.
Just a fun thought experiment… I’ve never planted a tree so young and with such a willowy trunk. Has anyone trained the trunk into fun shapes? Or done sort of a “bonsai” like treatment.
I understand bonsai is very different, but I mean just train the tree into a graceful but peculiar shape. I have another GoldRush that came much larger and I am toying with just treating this one as more a landscape/beauty tree.
My One Green World trees were the straightest to arrive this spring. And, growing the best. But, I love Cummins customer service- Steve was so helpful as a first time apple-buyer, and we talked a few times.
My lot has enough strong constant winds that every tree I planted in the first several years now has a lean to it (one is past 45* and somehow still holding on). I have taken to planting all my tree leaning into the wind now and I sortof prefer the trees that are pre-leaning now
Funny, this tree I posted was from One Green World and they also sent me a Liberty that is absolute trash. I’m not even convinced that one is going to break dormancy but we will see.
Why were your trees from Trees of Antiquity so excellent?