Noticed a weird pattern with new street trees in my town

I was walking through the new Maplewood subdivision in Springfield last weekend. Every single new red maple they planted has the burlap and wire basket still on, like they just dropped the whole root ball in the hole. Saw at least 15 trees like that. It's gonna cause major girdling in a few years. Has anyone else seen this becoming a standard practice with some of the bigger development crews?

4 comments

4 Comments

brooke_jones28d ago

So what happens to the burlap? Does it actually break down fast enough to not be a problem, or does it just rot into a mat that blocks the roots?

brian_baker28d ago

Cut that burlap off completely, it does NOT break down fast enough. Phoenix_martin40, those trees might look fine now but the wire basket will absolutely strangle the roots in a few years.

kai_chen221h ago

Wait, you've seen trees planted with the wire basket still on and they're fine? That's wild, I've only ever seen them get totally choked out. The roots can't push through that metal at all.

phoenix_martin4029d ago

Why is everyone so sure it's a problem? Maybe leaving the burlap on is a new method to protect the roots from shock in the first year. Those crews plant hundreds of trees, they probably know what works. I've seen trees planted that way years ago and they look fine now. People just like to find fault with new construction.