Northern Red Oak tree - Ask Extension
I failed to remove the protective tube on this tree. It spiraled inside the tube. Tube removed this summer. Questioning if the pigs tail curl will str...
Knowledgebase
Northern Red Oak tree #922866
Asked December 15, 2025, 8:08 AM EST
I failed to remove the protective tube on this tree. It spiraled inside the tube. Tube removed this summer. Questioning if the pigs tail curl will straighten out? Second question would be if I should do anything to the tree or let Mother Nature work her magic? Both photos are of the same tree, different angles.
Fillmore County Minnesota
Expert Response
No and possibly. The wood in the very middle of the trunk is fixed and will not change. However, if the "pigs tail" is at all flexible, try staking it gently into a vertical position. See this web page.
https://extension.umn.edu/planting-and-growing-guides/staking-and-guying-trees
The trunk will not become completely straight, but it may grow straighter above this section and have a "wavy" section in the middle of the trunk. If this works, I suspect that this area will be weak and may break off in a wind storm.
Alternative one is to stake the second stem that is emerging from the ground to keep it straight. Then remove the crooked trunk and let the second stem become the new leader or main trunk.
Alternative two. Training the area below the crooked section to become a new leader. See these web pages.
https://henderson.ces.ncsu.edu/2021/03/pruning-for-a-single-leader/
https://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/woody/structural-pruning-flash.shtml
This will become an experiment for you.
Well done on protecting the tree from deer and rabbit damage with the fencing if it is metal hardware cloth. It appears to be plastic fencing in the picture which both varmints can chew through and then chew the bark which will kill the tree. Good luck!
https://extension.umn.edu/planting-and-growing-guides/staking-and-guying-trees
The trunk will not become completely straight, but it may grow straighter above this section and have a "wavy" section in the middle of the trunk. If this works, I suspect that this area will be weak and may break off in a wind storm.
Alternative one is to stake the second stem that is emerging from the ground to keep it straight. Then remove the crooked trunk and let the second stem become the new leader or main trunk.
Alternative two. Training the area below the crooked section to become a new leader. See these web pages.
https://henderson.ces.ncsu.edu/2021/03/pruning-for-a-single-leader/
https://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/woody/structural-pruning-flash.shtml
This will become an experiment for you.
Well done on protecting the tree from deer and rabbit damage with the fencing if it is metal hardware cloth. It appears to be plastic fencing in the picture which both varmints can chew through and then chew the bark which will kill the tree. Good luck!
David,
It took a while, but here is the answer from a retired UMN tree professor.
"I've seen this happen before. As the sapling/seedling/li' tree grows up and approaches the top of the stem protection (or any opening/crack in the tube), the tip gets caught or redirected and it can grow in circles, grow back down (aka, the shepherd's crook), or any way but up. That tender growing tip is easily misdirected. The only cure for it is to take it out behind the barn and shoot it. Or...
Next spring, when the terminal growth is more supple, it might be supple enough to gently straighten out the crooked stem tip and then splint it straight up. To splint, use something like a bamboo cane (purchased at any garden center, some home improvement stores), attach the cane to the tree stem with zip ties and then attach the gently straightened tip to the cane so that it is now more vertical as it should be. If the crooked tip cannot be straightened without breaking it, prune the tip back to a bud on the stem that is not crooked. When that bud breaks, it will eventually produce a new leader growing straight up. To guarantee that it grows straight up, when the bud breaks and the side branch extends, splint that new branch vertically and it will become the new leader. I've splinted new leaders like this in similar situations many times and it works...100% of the time. https://extension.umn.edu/planting-and-growing-guides/staking-and-guying-trees.
It took a while, but here is the answer from a retired UMN tree professor.
"I've seen this happen before. As the sapling/seedling/li' tree grows up and approaches the top of the stem protection (or any opening/crack in the tube), the tip gets caught or redirected and it can grow in circles, grow back down (aka, the shepherd's crook), or any way but up. That tender growing tip is easily misdirected. The only cure for it is to take it out behind the barn and shoot it. Or...
Next spring, when the terminal growth is more supple, it might be supple enough to gently straighten out the crooked stem tip and then splint it straight up. To splint, use something like a bamboo cane (purchased at any garden center, some home improvement stores), attach the cane to the tree stem with zip ties and then attach the gently straightened tip to the cane so that it is now more vertical as it should be. If the crooked tip cannot be straightened without breaking it, prune the tip back to a bud on the stem that is not crooked. When that bud breaks, it will eventually produce a new leader growing straight up. To guarantee that it grows straight up, when the bud breaks and the side branch extends, splint that new branch vertically and it will become the new leader. I've splinted new leaders like this in similar situations many times and it works...100% of the time. https://extension.umn.edu/planting-and-growing-guides/staking-and-guying-trees.
