Clear stem, branched or multi-stem tree?

Since natural shapes are on the rise, the multi-stem tree is a growing trend. Actually, the traditional clear stem tree with its straight trunk and a crown of at least two metres, is unnatural. In nature, if wild animals have not eaten away at them and they are not located in a dark forest, trees have branches much lower down their trunks. However, we shall continue to cultivate clear stem trees because they are needed along streets and pathways to allow us to walk under them. Avenue trees also have the property of keeping the view open which is desirable in the city. In places where the greenery is allowed to retain a more natural form, lower branched or multi-stem trees can be planted. Low branched trees, also known as feathered trees, have a single vertical trunk too, but feature lateral branches from the ground up. The bottom of this kind of tree is often its widest part. During cultivation, a multi-stem tree is pruned at an early age so that several trunks grow next to the ground. Multi-stem trees usually have a vase-shaped crown structure: slightly narrower at the bottom become wider further up.

The advantages of multi-tree trees

The advantage multi-stem trees have over branched trees is that they have an open structure at their base so you can look through them. This means they are suitable for areas where an open character needs to be retained. With the same stem girth, multi-stem trees have a greater foliage mass than standard trees. This gives them a higher environmental rating and they provide more shade. There are also has aesthetic benefits due to the fact that they immediately create more of a green landscape. Many designers and landscape architects consider the looser, irregular habit of multi-stem trees to be more attractive. They use them as elements that define the look of larger public spaces.

Multi-stem: tree or shrub?

A tree is a woody plant with a trunk and a crown. This is something that everyone would agree with; however a tree fits many other descriptions. Most definitions include a height of at least four metres and state that there must be a single trunk. A shrub or bush is a woody plant which is branched directly above or in the ground and therefore does not form a trunk.
A multi-stem tree shares something of both. The basic material is a tree, but through human intervention or a natural coincidence, it takes on certain characteristics of a shrub. There are differences though. A multi-stem tree branches directly above the ground but the trunks are clearly distinguishable and the branches generally start higher up the trunks than they do on a shrub. A multi-stem tree can also reach a greater height than a shrub.

Cultivating trees under contract

Van den Berk Nurseries has a large number of multi-stem trees in its product range but also cultivates trees by commission and to the specifications of customers. The required numbers are cultivated to meet the image that the designer or architect has in mind. By carefully pruning and training the trees identically, we can create beautifully uniform batches. For instance from 2007 to 2012, we cultivated a batch of 365 twin-stemmed plane trees with an additional fork five metres from the ground for Strijp-S in Eindhoven to the specifications of West 8 architects.

Trees for this application