Many young trees die each year from a lack of care. Provide proper care in the tree's early years, and you'll be rewarded with years of trouble-free enjoyment. Experts no longer recommend staking young trees at planting time unless they're growing in a windy area. If that's the case, pound a stake on the windward side, but remove it once the tree becomes established--in a year or two at the most. Trees may be staked in several ways. A common method is to use short plastic stakes and guide wires. Pound the stakes into the soil at an angle, with the wire or rope attached. Protect the trunk by covering the wires with a piece of garden hose where they touch the bark. Place the hose-covered wire above a crotch on the trunk to prevent its slipping down. Check the wire every month to make sure it isn't cutting into the bark, slipping or damaging the young tree in any way. Leave the guide wires a little loose when you stake a tree to permit the tree to move slightly in the wind. This will strengthen the roots. If you use a stake instead of guide wires, make sure it's long enough to reach the crown of the tree. Place the straps around a crotch so they won't slip down the trunk. Never drive a stake through the roots of a young tree. Instead, pound the stake outside the drip line (an imaginary line on the ground corresponding to the outer edges of the tree's crown). Use pieces of hose to protect the bark. If you purchase a bare-root tree--the most economical option--never allow the roots to dry out. Deciduous bare-root trees come from nurseries in winter, when the plants are dormant, so they have no leaves. Bare-root trees are easy to ship and handle, which explains their low cost. If you can't plant a bare-root tree right away, dig a shallow hole in the soil, place the tree at an angle, and bury the roots to protect them--a practice called heeling in. Keep the roots covered until you're ready to plant. Prepare the planting hole before uncovering the tree.
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