When do you remove stakes from rootball trees?

Curious to get some opinions here.

I have quite a few rootball trees that were planted at 14-16cm girth and 16-18cm girth and double staked.

Some didn’t grow very well the first growing season, but all grew much better the second season. Spring 2022 will mark the third growing season and I am thinking of removing the stakes in June / July this coming summer. The trees don’t seem obviously weak, but as they are all quite high (ranging from 3-5m), I am worried they could lean if I remove the stakes too soon. Also conscious of the problems of leaving them staked too long.

What’s your own rule of thumb?

looksee

How are they staked? Is it a stake to support the rootball without really affecting the rest of the tree, or is it a stake that goes well up the trunk and holds it rigid? I would suggest leaving a rootball stake for another couple of years, but if it is a tall stake that is holding the trunk then it should be released (and shortened) and allowed to deal with wind and weather, while supporting the rootball for a while longer. These are quite big trees and a strong wind could still damage the roots, whereas they need to 'learn' to deal with the trunk flexing.

I don't claim to be an expert on trees but this would be my gut reaction.

They are staked like this:

looksee

I'll be interested to see other opinions, but my feeling would be to take the crossbar down to about 50cm and shorten the uprights.

Discodog

Did the contractor give you any kind of guarantee ?

I have had the trees for two years now, they are growing, the aftercare at this point is my responsibility. He said to remove them after a few years. When I search online, advice on removal ranges from 6 months to 3 years.

Discodog

Well I would agree with Looksee & reduce the height.

macraignil

I agree with what has been said about the top part of the tree flexing making it more likely to become stronger. I think how long the support stays on is very site dependent. If the tree is growing somewhere with some shelter from strong winds the supports can come off sooner. The drive way trees planted here had the supports taken off after about three years but since they are growing near the top of a hill there is still some amount of wind damge and a couple of them have started to grow at an angle and needed to have the tops thinned out to stop them getting fully blown over. If you can keep the support tied in loosely so it is not damaging the trunk I see nothing wrong with giving the tree more time to settle but without seeing how the area is effected by winds I would not be able to offer any solid advice as to when the supports would not be needed anymore.

Happy gardening!

standardg60

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118443009#Comment_118443009

Yep i'd agree with that advice, reducing the height of the stakes will encourage the trees to root further to stabilise, while still giving some support during that process