On Sun, 04 May 2008 08:17:44 -0400, Nate Nagel
wrote:

Hi all,

I've got a redbud tree (at least that's what I've been told it is) in my
front yard. Unfortunately it is growing at an angle, hanging over the
street and actually around a streetlight. It is a very pretty tree but
looks like hell. I think it did this because it was competing with an
oversized elderberry bush that was left untrimmed by the previous
owners. The redbud has two main trunks, one about 4" and the other
about 3" in diameter.

So yesterday I figured I would try to pull the tree straight and bought
some cable, clamps, and instead of a stake I bought a ground rod
figuring that a typical wooden stake wouldn't hold this tree (I have a
small ironwood in the back yard that I'm doing the same treatment to.)
I cut the ground rod in half, drove one half into the ground a few feet
away from the tree, and started setting up the cable. Gave SWMBO a
wrench with instructions that she should tighten the cable clamps while
I was pushing the tree upright and pulling the cable taut. I set my
back against the main trunk, held the loose end of the cable (I bought
the cable long enough that I could loop it around the ground rod and
back to the tree) took a breath, pushed, and... nothing. The damn tree
is STIFF.

Then things got stupid. I pulled the truck around front, tied a loop in
the cable, and dropped it over the trailer hitch. Carefully I inched
forward, but as soon as the cable pulled taut, the ground rod bent, and
the cable slipped off of it. (this is better than what I expected,
which was the cable snapping and whipping around. So SWMBO was standing
well away from all this mess.) It had a good bite in the ground, but
bent right where the clay under-soil gave way to actual topsoil, maybe
9" to a foot below the surface.

So what do I do with this tree? it's the prettiest tree in my front
yard, but looks very ghetto as it's been allowed to grow at such an
angle. What can I use as a stake that's stronger than a ground rod?
Rebar? And how do I pull it without using a pickup truck (e.g. safely)
I'm thinking two cables, each with a turnbuckle in the middle,
alternately being shortened, or maybe I should just bite the bullet and
invest in a good, heavy come-along.

nate