Q: I bought a tree this fall from a nursery that told me to plant it as is – with the burlap and wire basket left on. So that’s what I did. I’ve been reading that these things should be removed. Is there a consensus in the industry? Or does it vary from tree to tree? I planted a willow.
A: Absolutely there’s a consensus, and it’s to remove the burlap, basket, twine and any other transporting material once you’ve got the tree safely in the ground.
All of these materials are to keep the dug-up root ball together while the tree is being moved from grower to nursery to your yard. Once the tree is planted, these items become a detriment – and possibly a killer – to trees.
Twine or other tying material wrapped around trunks can strangle the tree and grow into the bark, weakening it at the base and causing a significant and potentially fatal stress.
Wire baskets aren’t an immediate threat, but as the roots grow, they can become constricted as the roots reach out through the openings and sometimes swell to fill them. The wire will remain intact for decades and possibly constrict at least some roots.
Burlap is an early threat. It impedes the growth of those young feeder roots out into the surrounding soil. That’s exactly opposite of your goal, which is to encourage a quick spread of roots so the tree establishes ASAP and becomes able to fend off drought and other stresses.
People used to think that letting burlap on was no problem because it decayed very fast.
The evidence didn’t bear that out, though. Burlap can stay fairly intact for two or three years in the ground. I’ve found it still there that long when examining trees and shrubs that died.
Some of the worst advice is to just double the burlap down into the hole “so it isn’t sticking out.” That might help the roots at the top part of the root ball, but now the lower roots have to contend with an even longer time for the double layer of burlap to break down.
A dozen or so years ago, some growers were experimenting with plastic burlap. The idea was to come up with a product that wouldn’t degrade at all. The problem is it looked exactly like cloth burlap, and gardeners and landscapers were planting trees without removing it. That was like planting in little plastic tombs.
I saw a development just outside of Hershey where new plantings were slowly dying off year after year. The problem finally was traced back to plastic burlap left on the root balls. Fortunately, the industry got away from that.
Bottom line is that you once you’ve got your new tree safely in the hole, cut off and remove all burlap, wire and twine – or as much as humanly possible without damaging the roots or bark.
Personally, come spring, I’d suggest excavating around your new tree to remove as much of the burlap and basket as you can. Since you just planted it in the fall, the roots won’t have had much time to establish yet. I doubt you’ll find any outside the burlap, which I suspect will be completely intact.