Alternative Staking Systems
Container and bare root trees often require stakes to hold them firm in the soil until roots become established. Root balls must remain firm and stable in the soil so the fragile new roots growing into the backfill soil are not broken as the root ball moves in windy weather.
Traditional staking systems are show in Figures 1-3. All three traditional systems require removal within one year after planting. Figures 4 and 5 show two systems used successfully by urban foresters throughout the country. Both of these inexpensive alternate systems eliminate the requirement to return to the tree to remove the staking system because they simply decay in a few years. Figure 6 shows an alternative, synthetic mulching material useful along streets and highway medians. Tree shelters or plastic tubes can increase survival of very small seedlings, but may have little or no use for standard sized planting stock. Their use has been associated with retarded trunk diameter growth, damage from birds, mechanical damage from trunks rubbing in the tube, ice and snow loading damage, reduced root systems, and delayed dormancy.
Figure 1: Three short stakes (2 shown) attached to the trunk with rubber or similar stretchable material. Stakes driven in as shown above may be better secured in the soil than those shown in Figure 2.