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ken

These trees tend to have a lean to them. Either they are multi-trunked where they all lean away from the center or they are single trunked and have a lean. The native ones growing in the woods are single-trunked w/ a lean to them.

trying to post photo again.
sorry new to this forum and the UI is different that used to, also i'm not getting alerts to your repsonses
thanks for them in advance.

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That's what usually happens when trees are planted too close together or in groups. The sell good in nurseries though!
I don't see any hope for the one leaning toward the street. In just a few years one of the others will lose out also.
I'd stick to one and cut the the other two... and I don't the the one will last very long either. Snow and ice will get em'.
Mike

Or possibly staked too long and consequently devoid of normal trunk taper and strength, now sans stake?

+oM

Yup, coupled with a generous dose of fertilizer, and you have a disaster on your hands.
Mike

What is all that purple on the ground around the trees?

there currently is no stakes or guy lines.

the purple in the front is a native plant to attract butterflies, the other isn't purple that is stone mulch, but the camara on phone made that look purple and the tree look white

so any ideas on what to do? they are very flexible now. i can take my arms and move them to where i'd want them to be

Clump birch often lean. (Botann, this could be one tree that grows a couple of side trees, very common for some Birch, even in the woods where they grow naturally.)
I can post a photo of mine and you will see the lean is pronounced on 2 of the 3. So far as the limberness of the tree, I think botann nailed it, too much fert when it was grown. This not only makes it suceptible to ice, but wait until a thunderstorm with cross-winds come through. You know all those nice long branches at the top? You will see some of them handing down alongside the trunk, broken but not down.

Since River Birch lose their leaves pretty early, snow is rarely a problem. However, rain on the leaves adds weight, and the flimsy branches can break when the wind blows. Birch are fairly brittle trees. Where in PA are you?

What if you got on a small ladder and loosely tied the 4 together? Would they help support each other?.....just a thought.

I have a volunteer black cherry which was growing at a near 45 degree angle towards the sun from under some walnuts. It was firmly rooted and probably 12 - 15 feet long.

A few years ago figuring the tree was sure to cause problems and I had nothing to lose I cut off the end three feet of the tree back to a branch which was growing more or less upwards.

The upwards pointed branch has done little noteworthy. However the tree has grown a new leader from about a foot up. Now the "leader" is about eight feet tall and oddly straight.

No clue if cutting the leading tip would help you but its what I did on an entirely different species of tree.

thanks all for input. i have made some adjustments to the tree based on information i received and found. I have stakes/guy lines now pulling the tree to a more more verticle positions and with the "trunks" not over lapping any more. The way i guyyed them counteracts the normal wind direction. I thinned out the top a little bit to make it less top heavy. I am resisting topping them until neccessary. Once it is cut it can't be uncut so i will see if this tactic show promise before cutting the leader.
I can't believe how limber these things are. It will move over 90 degrees. I'm hopeful it will mature, the trunks will thiken, and it will hold more or less in the position its in.
I will post a photo.
thanks