Wire baskets on rootballs

[03treegrunt11]

When planting trees.....I've read that the wire baskets can be left on....just cut off the top part.....we do a lot of planting at my full-time job.....one year we left the baskets on....the next year...were told to cut the baskets off....

I personally feel that the basket can be left on......the root system will grow through the basket. Also, the roolball won't be disturbed if the basket is left on.

Am I wrong and if so, why?

 

[treeseer]

Am I wrong and if so, why?

Yes, because the root system will not always grow through the basket without serious injury..

 

[Old Monkey]

I say take them off because someday they will dull my stump grinder's teeth.

 

[03treegrunt11]

I say take them off because someday they will dull my stump grinder's teeth.

Old Monkey....something tells me you won't have to worry about the wire baskets on the trees we're planting......but, I'll pass on your request to the boss....

 

[SilentElk]

the possibility of girdling the roots exists. I usually cut off the top row. Then make cuts on the horiznontal wires and bend them back. Isnt perfect but can all be done in a properly dug hole easily and does not damage the root ball. Does allow possibility of gidle on the bottom but hard to get that part out.

 

[treeseer]

When in doubt, follow the standards. ANSI says the top 1/3 of all packaging comes off. This will not disturb the rootball enough to worry about. Rootballs often benefit from disturbance--they can hide root abnormalities.

 

[ATH]

I remove the whole basket. It is not that hard, I KNOW the basket will not be harming the tree (I have seen girdling roots caused by the basket left on), and it doesn't damage the root ball. If anything losening the soil around the roots may encourage them to grow into the soil around the planting site better.

Like treeseer said, ANSI says remove the top. I expect my customers to demand I follow ANSI standards when taking care of their trees.

 

[NickfromWI]

Remove it. The baskets are there for human convenience. Once the tree is planted, we no longer need the baskets.

Can you think of a reason why the tree is GOOD to keep?

love
nick

 

[kennertree]

I was grinding a stump the other day and got into a wire basket. From the looks of it, they just cut the top part off and left the rest.

 

[Thillmaine]

Remove it

I poersonally have planted many a tree witht he baskets remaining on. Typically a nursery will tellt he homeowner to leave it on because otherwise the process of tree planting can be overwhelming for the happy homeowner. My new job requires us to take them all off. I do agree with this policy. Typically the girdsling roots wont happen for quiter sometime after the tree is plantes, so joe schmoe landscaper has his money and the tree is still alive, so he is happy. Another myth debunked, iron backets take quite sometime to rust away.. Like at least 5 years, and usually their are still remenants of them left in the ground.
Another point is that typically your young transplanted trees in the landscape siuation keep there roots int he top 3 foot of the soil, so depending on the size of the tree, it may or may not be an issue leaving the bottom bit of wire on the ball.

 

[Dixie1]

here is a good pic of the basket left on. the tree is obviously quite large and the basket it still in tact. i would remove them as well.

 

[jrparbor04]

that is why you should remove the top portion or cut it at least to prevent future girdling roots

 

[Dadatwins]

It is my opinion you should remove as much as possible of the 'packing material' before planting the tree. This gives you the chance to inspect the root ball before planting. Years ago the baskets were made of metal, the burlap was burlap, and the sisal was real sisal/manilla. Now the baskets are galvanized, the burlap is usually a nylon/polyester and the sisal is nylon. These materials are made to last a long time so the nursery can move the trees around and not worry about the packaging break. Also make it easier for the landscraper/ homeowner to throw the nice neat package in the hole, bury it with mulch, collect the check and move on. Take the packing junk off, the tree will like you better.

 

[lync]

Do it right

Roll the tree on its side make 6 or 8 cuts and take the bottom center off/roll it in the properly prepare hole, roll it to one side cut from the bottom to top roll the tree the other way pull the basket out. If it take two minutes per tree its a lot. Then there is no doubt that it will not cause any problems.

Corey

 

[emr]

We remove all the baskets on our trees. We have not had any problems. If the root ball does start to come apart, we just stake the tree and they have all been fine. I dont know that the basket actually causes the girdling roots but most times the trees are too deep in the basket and that does cause g-roots. There is lots of research going into this subject and I think before too long the standards will be re-written. Ok, maybe that is wishfull thinking.

 

[treeseer]

We remove all the baskets on our trees. We have not had any problems. If the root ball does start to come apart, we just stake the tree and they have all been fine. I dont know that the basket actually causes the girdling roots but most times the trees are too deep in the basket and that does cause g-roots. There is lots of research going into this subject and I think before too long the standards will be re-written. Ok, maybe that is wishfull thinking.

Don't expect great changes soon--the research results are spotty because they are short term, speaking in tree time. See Gilman's recent work here: http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/woody/documents/gstc2006.pdf

Some specifications still ignore the requirement in ANSI A300 (Part 6)-2005, 63.6.2.3, “The bottom of the trunk flare SHALL be at or above finished grade”. Instead, they instruct the landscape contractors to plant the root BALL at ground level, so the landscapers obediently follow this instruction, with disastrous consequences.

Arborists should have the ANSI standard—available from TCIA—in hand when they talk to growers and landscape architects and landscapers about deep planting. When these professionals see with their own eyes that the American Nursery and Landscape Association and the American Society of Landscape Architects are represented in ANSI, they will realize that they don’t have a stem to stand on when they bury trees. The entire green industry agrees that we should always be able to find the trunk flare.

Technically, the rootball does not even include the soil above the trunk flare. It is “measured from the bottom of the trunk flare to the bottom of the ball.” (ANSI A300 (Part 6)-2005, 63.6.1.2) If the flare is found and set to grade, in a hole “a minimum of 1.5 times the diameter of the root ball” (63.6.1.4), with mulch “applied near, but not touching the trunk” (63.6.2.9), the tree roots will not need to grow up in search of oxygen. But even if these standards are followed at planting time, the tree may not grow well. For some reason, there is nothing in the standard about the making sure the roots, at least the major roots, are growing away from the stem.

Why not? You’ll have to ask your organization’s representative to the ANSI committee, and get your comments in before the standard is revised again in 2010. The ANSI pruning standard does not currently cover root pruning—perhaps with the right kind of input, that standard can change to provide needed guidance on this simple act of arboriculture.