Sapodilla tree problem

[bradflorida]

I planted this Alano sapodilla tree in the ground one year ago.  At that time the trunk was very rubbery, even at 4-5 feet tall and a 7 gallon tree.  It was rubbery to the point that if unstaked it would bend to form an upside down letter U. 

Initially I staked it with several stakes surrounding the middle of the trunk like a teepee. 

Then that didn't seem to do the job too well so I decided to go to the current set up which is a piece of rebar driven into the ground and a piece of rope attached from the rebar to the tree to hold the tree against its main direction of leaning.

The tree itself has become noticeably less rubbery and is more upright even when I'm supported.

However there's a new problem. When the wind was blowing today I noticed that the ground was moving at the base of the tree. The ground was moving in the shape of roughly a 7 gallon container of dirt.

The tree itself has an umbrella like shape which may be catching the wind like a sail.

Watering has been done once or twice a week.

Do you guys recommend staking the tree more securely so that it cannot move in any direction and new roots can form which would give the tree a better anchoring system?  Or should I let the tree move around which may encourage the tree to better anchor its roots?

Would you recommend giving a significant pruning to the tree in order to decrease the sail effect?

Or should I just pug the tree completely and let it branch out lower and prune it in order to avoid the sail effect?

Thanks!

Brad

[demingcr]

Looks like a sail so no surprise it's catching the wind!

I think you can either knock off a few limbs to reduce the wind drag or anchor it better and let it root in. I think i'd advocate a bit of both. I don't know if Sapodilla would take severe pruning or "pugging" well, but others with more experience with pruning sapodilla may comment on that. I have pruned mine, but tip pruned and it responded no differently than if i let it grow normally... but that's a lot different than topping it.

[Finca La Isla]

I don't think that any movement in the ground can be good.  Trying to imagine the rootball of a 7 gallon container supporting the foliage evident in the photo seems out of balance.  Is there a reason the tree isn't rooting into the surrounding terrain?
Personally, I would prune the foliage back quite a bit, trying to reach a healthy balance between the quantity of roots and foliage.  This will, obviously, lighten the load up top while you figure out how to get the tree to root into the surrounding soil.
Peter

[kalan]

My Alano went unpugged its first year of growth and it snapped in half after it's first strong storm. Wish I had pugged it. They seem to grow quite top heavy and really do catch wind well. Mine is 3 years in the ground and has recovered nicely to all my pruning. The fruits are very heavy relative the the bough strength and need to be more than a years growth to hold the fruit; unless, that is, you decide to thin the fruitlets.

If it's rooted well, I say chop away. And by the way, they don't need that much water and seem to be very drought resistant. So I'd wonder if you have a rock pit with water held in the base. Did you happen to amen the soil heavily in rocky soil? I'm wondering about that movement you described at the base of the tree.

Keith

[demingcr]

My Alano went unpugged its first year of growth and it snapped in half after it's first strong storm. Wish I had pugged it. They seem to grow quite top heavy and really do catch wind well. Mine is 3 years in the ground and has recovered nicely to all my pruning. The fruits are very heavy relative the the bough strength and need to be more than a years growth to hold the fruit; unless, that is, you decide to thin the fruitlets.

If it's rooted well, I say chop away. And by the way, they don't need that much water and seem to be very drought resistant. So I'd wonder if you have a rock pit with water held in the base. Did you happen to amen the soil heavily in rocky soil? I'm wondering about that movement you described at the base of the tree.

Keith

I've seen movement in relatively freshly transplanted trees with a 'sail' like canopy. IMO, and in agreement with the above posts, I think chopping away is the best bet.. the movement seems to retard the growth of roots! (Observational analysis and not scientific only..!!!)My friend has a much windier yard than I and seems to have more issue establishing freshly planted trees.

[bradflorida]

Thanks a lot Colin, Keith and Peter!

Sounds like its time to trim the "sail" and add a couple more pieces of rebar to support it better. 

I appreciate the input. 

[bradflorida]

Did a heavy pruning today, to decrease the sail effect.  Just need to stake the trunk better now.

[gnappi]

I have a little sapodilla that is also "rubbery" I went out one day and the top 1/3 was bent down toward the ground so I tied it to a long plastic stake along the trunk. I think it will be OK as the wood matures?

[bradflorida]

Gary

After about a year of staking, the trunk of this sapodilla tree is now mostly rigid enough to support itself. 

[Bonakyon]

This may not help the OP but maybe someone else that will be getting a somewhat rubbery sap in the near future. Once you dig the hole for the transplant take a stake (bamboo mostly) and push it into the ground dead center inside the hole maybe a foot or more deep (the hole for the root ball should be about the same depth depending on the age of the tree, so the stake will be about two or more feet deep when done) then place the tree in the hole accommodating the root ball so that the trunk is aligned as much as possible with the stake, fill in, press down firmly but not excessively, then tie the trunk to the stake leaving about a half inch gap between the stake and the stem. If the stake is taller than the tree I would cut it off to just below the top of the sap. Ideally this should be done before pushing the stake in the ground to avoid loosening the stake once in place. This is what I did and it worked well for me, just thought I'd share...