The hollow tree managed to sway (6)
I believe the answer is:
teeter
'sway' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'the hollow tree managed' is the wordplay.
'hollow' suggests removing the centre.
'managed' indicates an anagram.
'the' with its middle removed is 'te'.
'tree' with letters rearranged gives 'eter'.
'te'+'eter'='TEETER'
'to' is the link.
(Other definitions for teeter that I've seen before include "Rock unsteadily on feet" , "Hesitate on the brink" , "Totter, wobble" , "Sway, as if about to fall" , "See-saw on the edge" .)