DaisyI said:There is some internal damage or the tree wouldn't still be bent. But the damage isn't too severe or you would see something on the outside: vertical splits or horizontal wrinkles in the bark. I think your best hope is to tie a rope that is padded (so it doesn't further damage the trunk) around it above the bend and pull it straight. Then you can secure the other end the rope to the ground or another tree. If possible, give it a splint against the trunk to keep it from moving too much. Eventually the tree will re-grow the damaged cells in the trunk and it will stand straight by itself.
Its a pretty tree with 30 years of effort into it. Don't give up.
Daisy
The fence behind it is broken and trying to bend the tree is very difficult, I don't know if rope will even hold it from all the resistance!
I just checked as the tree straightened out slightly, there are two bends, in the trunk and high up around 9-10 feet. The trunk I pushed and it's a little better, but the top of the tree I cannot do that, and I have nothing to tie that to if its that high up. I'm going to wait and see if anything improves naturally for now.
Also, this tree has had issues from the start. Planted against the fence in the past made the trunk bent until I tried fixing it many years later, but not bent this bad. Second, it was growing under another large tree it's whole life. It never experienced the motion of wind or snow falling on it, which causes trees to grow strong trunks and handle the elements. My trees structure is weak because of this, and with its protection from wind and snow gone it's easily prone to damage.
