Thank you everyone for your advice. It seems that some of you are of the "leave it" persuasion and some of the "tie it" persuasion, and more importantly that both ways are able to work long term. I did have a smaller (younger) Monsieur Tillier do this before, and I did indeed leave it to regrow and it has been fine ever since. But Ducher is growing with more companions and I don't really think there is room to leave it leaning unless I am prepared to move other plants. Anita, your thought that deeper planting would help prevent this problem seems like a good one. I think I should definitely do this in the future. I'm glad that the rebar tripod seemed to work well even before the tying up. I'm rather lazy about tying up, and even prefer to weave my climbers rather than tying them up (although this does make for more work when it is time to remove a cane). Greybird, I fear that you also are probably right that if a mature plant shows a tendency to blow over, it will probably do so again. Does anyone have any thoughts about what effect leaving it leaning has on the root system? In my case, the roots are still completely covered and in the ground. Do you think that when you leave a rose bush leaning, the extra stress on the roots would cause it to grow more roots to even out the stress and thus better anchor the plant? Or do you think that it is just a physical effect - that when you leave it leaning and allow new growth to occur, it merely changes the shape from vase shaped to much wider and therefore more stable in the wind, like cweathersby's awesome 3' tall bush? Certainly, my Monsieur Tillier is also more stable now after leaving it, but it is also much wider than it would be if it hadn't blown over. Thanks again everyone. Kathy

Well, I appreciate everyoneÂs suggestions and thoughts. It has helped a great deal. Dan: Although IÂm going to pass on the smokebush, the discussion about this has interested my parents in it, and IÂll probably plant a couple of "American Smokebush"Âs at their farm. I guess my dad has liked that tree for years, but never knew what it was called. However the Fagus sylvatica 'Riversii' is a neat option, and IÂd never considered a beech before. That variety is a bit big for what space IÂve got in that area, but I thank you and Ken both for the beech suggestions. Katrina: An excellent point, especially how wet that area tends to be. Although I havenÂt done a drainage test in that area yet (I will before I plant anything), I do get a good bit of water in that area from gutter runoff and my neighborÂs excessive watering. Personally I never water that area due to all the free water I get from the neighbor! When I dig that thing up tomorrow/Sunday IÂll report back on what I found. If I were a betting person, IÂd give you good odds that your suspicions will play out. Ken: IÂm with you on the canker. IÂm done with it, and IÂve finally gotten the wife to agree. Also, between you and Dan, IÂm really looking hard at those beeches. Thanks for the link, and especially for pointing out that weeping beech (Fagus sylvatica 'Black Swan' ). Between the Black Swan Beech, the ÂPurple Fountain and the ÂPurpurea PendulaÂ, I may have found what IÂm looking for. Besides, the sheer novelty of a 25 purple leafed tree with only a 3 spread would be something to behold. IÂve included a link for an example of the three that IÂve pointed out (warning: it is a nursery link). Again, I appreciate the comments all, and let you know what I find out when I dig that tree out of the ground. Dave Here is a link that might be useful: Weeping Beech trees

Wonder if the corn in the link blew over because of the type of soil (raised beds were probably filled with loose, amendment-heavy soil)? I bet the problem is much more likely when the plantings are in non-native, fill "dirt". Of course maybe the yard soil wasn't good.

with me I'm pretty sure its not the roots. some areas stay fairly wet this time of year due to no real sun strength yet and I am close to wetlands. Now combine that with a Nor-easter with 5 inches of rain and 70-80mph gusts on a 24 hour storm it was just too much. some parts of the yard were like a river. even little 4ft. green giants tipped over some. crazy storm. The Norways all seem fine. Lost a fat albert that I planted 12 years ago. so bummed.