By Colter
Norfolk, United Kingdom
Hi my holly trees are now about 5ft (in 5 years) and we noticed they are growing at an angle due to the wind hubby has put stakes in what can i use to tie them back, intend capping them at about 7ft to create hedging which was always the intention?
- 15 Jun, 2018
Answers
Did a one-time wind tip them over, Colter, or are the branches just growing longer on the leeward side of the prevailing winds?
If the former, that was one wild wind, and you may need to do some selective pruning of the tops, since there will have been root damage as they went over.
If the latter, this is a long term problem that no amount of staking or tying will help with. All you can do is to prune the leeward side more at a time and more often, to keep the hedge from taking up more space than planned. Remember to prune it so the top is narrower than the bottom, or the bottom will go bare.
15 Jun, 2018
Thank you, it appears the latter, as has blown the trampoline over a couple of times (even though they are close to a 6ft wooden fence) also my heavy metal patio set has been blown over so will prune as you suggest
16 Jun, 2018
If you know a local farmer I can recommend binder twine if they still use it. Strong, lasting and easy to see. (drawback is it isn't pretty but it does fade...
15 Jun, 2018