We have an arbutus tree that we planted in our front yard in the kerrisdale area of vancouver 3 years ago. It was planted as a small tree. We staked it while it was young. It always wanted to grow very deeply to the side. We have now unstaked it and it is really leaning heavily to the side and seems to creep closer to the ground every day. We are wondering if we should prune it in some way to reduce the weight of the crown so that it won't end up on the ground? Picture is attached. Thanks so much, Liane
we have many volunteer arbutus *approx 4 yr old - in what was disturbed (new septic system) land at our cottage - and they just grow whichever way they want. and truly - if you look at the native ones on the coastal rocky outcrops - they do lean over i would not prune if you are determined that it stands "up" - then maybe just support it - and train it that way. Tho that could open some other issues. I am not an arborist. the lucky part of this is that you were able to transplant an arbutus - not many of us have succeeded!
Most woody stock I look at local outlets has root deformities due to being left in containers too long during one or more stages of the production cycle. If I were called to look at your tree the first thing I would do is look to see if there are any misdirected roots visible above the soil, move the stem up and down to see if it looked root bound.
