When growing a new plant, professional gardeners and green-fingered enthusiasts alike will undoubtedly be presented with a wide range of hints and tips regarding the best course of action.
However, as a result of this trend, many myths that have little or no basis in fact can be perpetuated.
For instance, many growers appear to believe that young trees need a great deal of care – such as by staking them in order to give them a little protection from the wind.
With many saplings – and particularly those in public places – tied up to sticks in the ground, it is easy to see how this view continues to be widely accepted.
However, science writer David Derbyshire has argued that this is simply unnecessary – and may even be damaging to the trees in the long term.
Writing in an article for the Guardian, he explained that an attitude of tough love can be just as effective with trees as it is with small children.
He acknowledged that it can be very tempting to secure a sapling in this way, but warned that it will be weakened by such an act.
Research was cited from the 1950s, which was carried out by botanists and found that trees that are allowed to sway in the wind grow thicker, lower trunks than those that remain staked.
Royal Horticultural Society adviser Leigh Hunt suggested that staking is fine for the first 12 to 18 months of a sapling's life.
"After that you want to remove the stake because the tree can become reliant on it and you get a tree that is not as strong and stable," he remarked.
It is also important to maintain such a plant with a set of tree pruners, as cutting back excess growth can keep it in the best possible shape and reduce the chance of disease being contracted.
