Green Giants and Blue Spire Juniper

Two years ago we planted two Green Giant Thujas they were about 6ft tall. We wanted to make a group of three trees in this particular spot so we chose a Blue Spire Juniper to form a triangle of three, with the Blue Spire at the front. They look really good with the lush green of the Green Giants and the lovely Blue Spire Juniper slightly lower but growing just as fast as the Giants. They have settled into their positions and are thriving nicely, but, and here's the problem, even though the Giants are planted about 7ft away from the neighbors fence, he has some very large trees in his garden (60 - 70ft tall) and my three trees are beginning to lean away from them. The neighbors big trees are not overhanging the Giants but they are providing some shade during the day. My question is, how successful will it be to stake all three of my trees to try to encourage them to grow upright? They are planted on a slope and they are leaning up the slope.

Unfortunately, if you stake the trees to an upright position, any new growth they put on will simply "lean" out, and you might end up with S shaped trees. In other words, temporarily, you'll get them straightened out, but over the long run, the lean will come back. This phenomenon is known as "phototropism," the tendency of a plant to grow toward the source of sunlight. It's a force of nature; you can't overcome it by staking. The only solution is to remove the shade.

Are you sure it's the neighboring trees that are causing the lean, and not the fence? If it's a solid fence that casts shade against the back sides of your three trees, that could be causing them to lean away from it.

If it is indeed the neighbor's trees, can they be pruned to allow more sunlight onto yours?

Thank you for your reply, sorry so long in answering.

Nope... No hope of cooperation from the neighbors I'm afraid, not that kind of neighbors! We nearly had a fist fight over 3 massive river birch trees overhanging our garden to such an extent they stretched completely across a side lawn and half way across our drive. In the end, (because we were within our right to do it and because the neighbors refused point blank to have them trimmed back) we paid an arborist to cut them back radically to the property line.

As I stated originally, the trees in question are not overhanging our property but they are obviously having an effect on our trees. If it is useless to stake, and I have been reading elsewhere the same information - we will just have to leave them to nature. I don't think it is the fence, the sun comes round our side of the fence, (which is why we had so much trouble with their river birch trees) and is on the trees all day. They are actually not leaning away from the fence (forward) they are leaning up the hill (sideways).

Thanks again.