[Growster...]

I'm having a clean-out of our front garden, which is mainly shrubs and small trees, and after clearing or pruning quite a lot of old leggy shrubs like Fuchsia, Dogwood, Laurel etc., and taken out a feral Willow, I've found that there is now quite a gap between these two trees, such that they have diverged from each other quite a bit!

In the pic, the Magnolia on the left is actually all on one side of its trunk, which you can just see half-way up, and the Lilac on the right originally had a bough leaning towards it, which I've cut away.

So what's the answer to getting them both vertical again? Will they naturally bend back towards each other, or should I temporarily rope them together - they do move quite a bit - and would they stay that way after removing the rope? Both trees should be subject to phototropism at some stage, (had to look that one up after a neighbour mentioned it), but how long would that take?

What does the panel think please?

[New shoot]

They will both grow into the gap. I wouldn’t bother to rope them up personally, but you could do.  Just make sure you use something to line the rope on the outsides of the stems where the most pressure will be exerted.

This is going to sound counter-intuitive, but make sure you regularly prune back on the sides you want to grow in.  Every cut branch will then throw 2 or 3 shoots to replace what you have cut and the gap will fill that much faster.

[Growster...]

Thank you News!

The 'builder' in me demands a proper balance, but somehow I don't want to interfere with nature, and you make a good case for letting them do their stuff! That's good advice!

The Magnolia was 'free' with the Daily Telegraph many years ago, and only this year, it bloomed twice and is just beginning to get going as a proper tree, which is so gratifying! Mrs Growster planted the Lilac from a sucker even earlier than that! I always strew any hedge clippings etc., around these trees and shrubs, and they seem to love it, although we still call it 'The Bark Bed', as it was originally a lawn which we changed quite a bit!

The new owners of the white-painted house next door have also just planted a mature Magnolia, so they both can chat over the hedges*..;0)

(*Well, we always do)!

[Goosegirl]

The harder you cut back a shoot, branch, stem whatever, the more it will grow.