Soooo I follow this sub and now find myself planting some trees and in desperate need of advice!!
I was told to peel back the burlap and wire once I get it in the final hole, and to leave the rest. They said the burlap will disintegrate and the metal will rust away within 3-5 years. However I am always seeing posts on here saying you should NOT do that. On one I see some big rocks?? Uhhhh do I cut away the wire and take them out and just plant the root filled parts of this ball?? On the other one, the sand fell out, so my instinct is to cut away the metal and leave the top??
Cross posting to native garden page because I asked about this project before, and maybe some of them are also in the market for some B & B trees.
Last pic: me patiently awaiting the special delivery. 🌲🌲🌲
Thank you!!
by carpetwalls4
3 Comments
It is a huge pain in the ass but i cut the entire wire basket off and remove all of the burlap, it is the best way to guarantee success and growth of your tree.
I use these to cut the basket away:
[https://www.harborfreight.com/8-in-bolt-and-wire-cutter-57221.html](https://www.harborfreight.com/8-in-bolt-and-wire-cutter-57221.html)
Sometimes there is also twine that is tied around the lower trunk, definitely cut that away too.
I stopped buying Ball & Burlap trees because they are a massive pain in the rear to plant and the landscaping companies around me can’t be trusted to handle them properly.
All wire and twine should be removed from the ball. As for the burlap many people either remove the top 1/3-2/3 of the burlap or the entire thing. Some sources will say that it can be left on entirely but I’ve found that it encourages the tree to grow around the moist layer of organic matter provided by the burlap rather than growing out into the surrounding soil. I personally remove all of the burlap when planting since often times it’s synthetic or coated in petrol and will not ever leave the soil or disintegrate no matter how long it’s left for.
It’ll suck. And it’ll be an absolute nightmare to maneuver into the hole. But eventually you’ll be like me and realize your measurements were off and you have to pull it out of the hole to get the truck flare level with the surface. But it’ll get in there and it’ll look nice, and all will be well.
It doesn’t matter. This tree will be dead from Woolly Adelgid within 20 years.