Is this tree ok?

Hi

I bought this tree online and it came delivered in a box. Since delivery, the leader at the top has been leaning at an almost 90 degree angle, will it right itself and grow vertical? Also, 2 of the main branches were snapped so I had to prune to the nearest leaf. Will these continue to grow? Is the tree ok or should I be asking for my money back?

thanks
Go easy I’m an amateur

 

The perils of buying online.
It looks pretty good to me considering it was shipped to you, not easy with something that size.
Having said that, is it supposed to be variegated, only it is lower down but looks totally green on top.
Have you got a picture of the whole tree especially around the base.

 

Sorry, the variegated bit is an unruly part of a nearby Weigela not this tree.

Will the top of the trunk start growing upright or should I get a taller cane?

thanks for your help

 

I think it will straighten up looks like a kind of lax type of tree to be honest.
Not an Amelanchier is it?

 

What sort of tree is it?
Is it in the ground or in a pot?

 

It’s an Amelanchier robin hill, in the ground

 

Very nice.
Are you planning on growing it as a single stem tree or a multi stemmed shrub.

 

Planning on keeping it single stem

 

It looks a nice healthy tree to me. Bits can break during the journey, however good the packaging.

 

I would replace the bamboo cane with a proper tree stake and also remove the green plastic ties and replace them with a rubber tree tie. This will then give the tree adequate support and allow the main stem to expand as it grows and strengthens.

 

They're hardy and quite fast growing plants that get to between 4-8m tall and wide.
The minor damage yours has is of no significance, just cut off any bits that are damaged or dangling.

If you want to grow it as a single stem plant then you need a good solid trunk that's able to support all the growth above.
To get a sturdy trunk, the plant need to be blown about in the wind - that's what strengthens the trunk.
But if the plant is blowing about in the wind there's going to be a lot of wind rock which will snap the roots as they're trying to grow. This would not be good.

So to keep the roots completely stable and let the rest of the plant blow about inthe wind, it needs to be staked properly with a sturdy tree stake and tree tie.
The tree needs to be tied to the stake quite low down to keep the roots stable.
This is a very good example -



The top of the stake should be pointing toward the prevailing wind, which for a lot of England will be the South-West

Grown as a multi stemmed shrub, you can more or less let it do its own thing.

One of the loveliest shrubs you can get

 

Thanks for the excellent replies.

I have staked it out at the bottom. Should I leave the cane in or take that out now?

 

The cane is really just there for support during transit @Booker_jl , so if you've got a proper stake in place, you can just take that out. Just keep an eye on it if it's windy - sometimes you need a stake in both directions, until they're really well established, if you're in a windier spot.

The main problem with planting a tree, of any size, at this time of year is - watering. If you have lots of other planting around it, especially shrubs, they'll compete for moisture, so make sure you do thorough watering every 3 or 4 days [approx.] if you don't have really persistent rainfall lasting several hours. It's very easy to underestimate the amount of water a tree needs, and that's why it's easier to plant in autumn, when they're heading for dormancy, and the weather is cooler and damper.
I don't know where you're located either, but if you're not in a consistently wetter part of the country, that's the most important thing to keep on top of for the next few months.