How to straighten up a tree

[MintTeaLady]

I planted this oak tree two years ago with absolutely no gardening experience and have only just discovered that I did it all wrong (should’ve put the stake in at a 45 degree angle rather than straight and was supposed to leave an area without grass around it). I’ve taken the stake out now as it seems they shouldn’t be in for two years but I’m not sure what to do about how it leans to one side.

How do I get it to straighten up? Are there too many branches on one side only? Any guidance would be very much appreciated.

We have a wonky pear tree which DH tied a rope around and attached to the hedge. You would need a stake of some kind.

@JaneJeffer did it work? I could definitely try that!

Which direction is the prevailing wind coming from?

@LizzieMacQueen it comes from where I was standing when I took that photo, but the tree leans to the right. Sorry for my very basic explanation of wind directions.

This is a photo from the opposite direction. The wind would come straight at me from where I was standing, but the tree isn’t leaning in that direction.

It straightened it a bit but now it's starting to lean eastward again. The rope needs to be tightened up I think.

I don't really know why I asked about the wind; I know nothing much about gardening but thought perhaps it was the wind causing the bend rather than the pegging out. But that doesn't appear to be the case.

LizzieMacQueen
Genuine lol

I'm also a very amateur gardener and tied my wonky apple tree to a bracket sticking out of the wall. Must check if it worked.

I planted this oak tree two years ago with absolutely no gardening experience and have only just discovered that I did it all wrong The 45 degree stake advice is relatively new. The way you did it was standard until a few years ago. Keeping the ground clear is relatively recent too, but not critical - your tree seems to have established very nicely.