Conduit stakes - any tips or tricks?

chickenlittle

5 year old buck +
I have a mix of young trees that want bend over. I’d like to straighten them up while I still can. I’ve run out of the scrap steel pipe I’ve used for stakes and plan to use EMT conduit. Any tips or tricks I should know when installing? Preferred sizes? Any good ways to make a taller stake than you get with a 10’ piece?
 
Ten foot is as tall as I have used.

My wife so old nylons that she is going to discard are good for tying.


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Id like to know too. I have a bunch of red cedars I planted last fall that aren't standing up. They're green but won't stand.
 
I have a mix of young trees that want bend over. I’d like to straighten them up while I still can. I’ve run out of the scrap steel pipe I’ve used for stakes and plan to use EMT conduit. Any tips or tricks I should know when installing? Preferred sizes? Any good ways to make a taller stake than you get with a 10’ piece?

The only thing I can say is that if you are using a rigid conduit for a stake, be sure to leave enough room for the tree to bend in the wind. I'm sure you know they need that stress as they grow to keep the trunk from becoming brittle.
 
If your using concrete reinforcing cages like so this simple method may work. I did this this past spring and it seems to be working well so far. This pear was swaying in the wind enough to make contact with the cage and do some damage to the trunk. The hog rings hold the mule tape in place and there is no real pressure on the tree like a knot thus allowing room to move in the wind but still offer some support.
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Here is what I'm trying to correct shown in photos from last fall. These are not just planted whips but 3-5 years in the ground. Sometimes the whole tree leans but the central leader is pretty straight. Sometimes the bottom half is vertical and then the top bends over. I do thin apples to help with these young trees but not always as much or as early as I should. I think I took most of the apples of the tree in the first photo after taking the picture. However, it isn't always driven by fruit load. For very young trees that start to show a problem, they get a 5ft pvc stake and stretchy flagging tape but that doesn't keep them straight as they get bigger/older.

I'd like to correct the form with a tall enough stake and support it for a few years while so it takes the right shape as it matures. Otherwise, I'll likely end up pruning them back and forcing a new central leader to take over and giving it more time to grow into its size. But I hate to give up apple production when these are just starting to produce.


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I have a mix of young trees that want bend over. I’d like to straighten them up while I still can. I’ve run out of the scrap steel pipe I’ve used for stakes and plan to use EMT conduit. Any tips or tricks I should know when installing? Preferred sizes? Any good ways to make a taller stake than you get with a 10’ piece?
k
 
Looked at my orchard this past weekend and have several trees similar to what chickenlittle has described

Anyone have any creative remedies?

thanks,

bill
 
Here is what I'm trying to correct shown in photos from last fall. These are not just planted whips but 3-5 years in the ground. Sometimes the whole tree leans but the central leader is pretty straight. Sometimes the bottom half is vertical and then the top bends over. I do thin apples to help with these young trees but not always as much or as early as I should. I think I took most of the apples of the tree in the first photo after taking the picture. However, it isn't always driven by fruit load. For very young trees that start to show a problem, they get a 5ft pvc stake and stretchy flagging tape but that doesn't keep them straight as they get bigger/older.

I'd like to correct the form with a tall enough stake and support it for a few years while so it takes the right shape as it matures. Otherwise, I'll likely end up pruning them back and forcing a new central leader to take over and giving it more time to grow into its size. But I hate to give up apple production when these are just starting to produce.


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I have lots of trees like that. I try ten foot conduit and then give up on them.

Are you exposed to lots of wind?

I see less of this on my heavier soil which is also more protected from the wind. Biennial fruit bearing makes it worse.

I have wondered if this is more of a natural tree form in a prairie environment. Lots of branches and shorter height.


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If your using concrete reinforcing cages like so this simple method may work. I did this this past spring and it seems to be working well so far. This pear was swaying in the wind enough to make contact with the cage and do some damage to the trunk. The hog rings hold the mule tape in place and there is no real pressure on the tree like a knot thus allowing room to move in the wind but still offer some support.
View attachment 35303
same tool works awesome for securing chicken wire to rewire or other fencing.... good little tool to have
 
This orchard is on a south slope with forest protecting it from winds to the north and east. On the smaller trees, I think my use of small diameter cages limited their movement and made some of them weak when I removed the cage. Older/Larger trees are well anchored with a strong central leader but then curve over at the top. Maybe there is nothing I can do for those. If I stake and straighten, they may just grow up higher and then bend over. Maybe I should just consider topping those and controlling the height.

I bought some 3/4” and 1” conduit. I was happy with 3/4” on younger trees. Went in easy with the 2 handed post driver. Used stretchy vinyl tape to secure the tree.

I used a 1” on a Liberty/B118 planted in 2015. It is one that the top bends over to the south but was well anchored. I was able to straighten the top it back up at high as the stake goes but the tippy top still tips over. Made me feel better but maybe not worth doing. I have some some similar ones that I plan to try a 2 piece stake. 5’ of 1” conduit in the ground and 10’ of 3/4 bolted into it. I’ll do this to a few trees and see how that does. Then probably give up and let what happens happen.
 
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A couple more I now need to stake for a while. Grafted trees from Cummins that I planted in 2015. Blew over earlier this week in a storm. The closer tree on right is Nova Spy on Polish 18. Tree on the left is Wolf River on Bud 118.IMG-0829.jpg
 
Steel Ta post and use mule tape or arbor strap,I also use some interlocking rubber strapping for less pressure needs.Forestry suppliers has all these.On the real bad ones I have used the mule tape and attached to a small ratchet strap every month or so ratchet a couple clicks
 
I am way late to the game on this one, but will tell you what I did and it worked well. I don’t know the sizes of metal electrical conduit off the top of my head, so I am just going to say 3,2,1 for simplicity. 3 being the largest.

I got to where I was installing 4 to 5 feet of size 3 in the ground when I planted then I would set a size 1 that was 10 feet long inside of the 3. I did that so I could remove the 10 section and lift my cage over the tree and shorter piece of conduit when I wanted.

Next, I too had some trees that bent on me. I drilled a hole through the section of 3 conduit about 2 feet below the top of the conduit. Then I inserted a nail through the hole and inserted a 10 foot section of size 2 conduit. That would get you up to about 12 feet. Then, I drilled a hole about 3 feet down from the top of the size 2 conduit and inserted a nail through it. Then I would insert a 5 foot section of the size 1 conduit inside the size 2 conduit. That got you up to about 17 feet.

When I tried it the first time I din’t think it would work. It worked very well every time. I think the key is the size 3 conduit being driven into the ground makes a big solid foundation.




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Dwarf trees often need to be staked WELL so that when, not if, water saturated ground and high winds come together the tree is not blown over. M7 and other dwarfing rootstocks do not have a strong/deep root system, especially in sandy or loamy soils. Tie LOOSELY to the stake or stakes (or to a cage). Do not SUPPORT the tree. Never tie the tree and pull on the support to try to force the tree to grow in another direction. This just loads the tree like a catapult. Then when rope breaks with age (usually when full of heavy fruit) it is a disaster. Out of morbid curiosity, I wish I had been there to see mycatapult disasters happen. Kind of like the fascination of watching crash at a race track.
 
I am way late to the game on this one, but will tell you what I did and it worked well. I don’t know the sizes of metal electrical conduit off the top of my head, so I am just going to say 3,2,1 for simplicity. 3 being the largest.

I got to where I was installing 4 to 5 feet of size 3 in the ground when I planted then I would set a size 1 that was 10 feet long inside of the 3. I did that so I could remove the 10 section and lift my cage over the tree and shorter piece of conduit when I wanted.

Next, I too had some trees that bent on me. I drilled a hole through the section of 3 conduit about 2 feet below the top of the conduit. Then I inserted a nail through the hole and inserted a 10 foot section of size 2 conduit. That would get you up to about 12 feet. Then, I drilled a hole about 3 feet down from the top of the size 2 conduit and inserted a nail through it. Then I would insert a 5 foot section of the size 1 conduit inside the size 2 conduit. That got you up to about 17 feet.

When I tried it the first time I din’t think it would work. It worked very well every time. I think the key is the size 3 conduit being driven into the ground makes a big solid foundation.




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Would you post pics of this?

thanks,

bill
 
Would you post pics of this?

thanks,

bill

I would be happy to if I had them, all of my trees are old enough now that no support is needed. I don’t have any photos. In theory is is nothing other than a large telescoping support. It just doesn’t telescope. All it does is allow the smaller conduit to rest on a nail that is inserted horizontally through the hole you drilled through the larger conduit.


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Got it

Thanks for the ideas

Will post pics of my "rig" soon

bill
 
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