Tree ball, roped and burlaped, on or off?

We just had a 3" stem Autumn Blaze maple planted on a fairly steep hill. The soil is extremely heavy clay and right now with the floods wet, wet, wet. The landscaper left about a third of the tree ball above soil level and covered it with mulch. That actually concerns me less than the fact that we can easily see the burlap bag is still securely roped onto the tree ball. I read that leaving the burlap on is okay, but is the rope still supposed to be there?

The rope should be untied and it and the burlap should be rolled down until it is about level with the bottom of the rootball. The burlap will degrade in time but it's better to get it out of the way of the roots because most burlap is treated with a chemical that prevents root growth (so the trees don't root into the ground in the nursery). I also encourage you to use a root stimulator (not fertilizer!) like Espoma's Biotone.

ps- If the landscaper left the tree with the rope tied around the trunk in any way, he's an idiot. Don't use him again.

My question is why did they leave so much sticking out of the ground and then only cover it with mulch and not soil??? We've planted trees still in the burlap but we've made some slices in it careful not to cut the roots, rope def should have been removed.

called the landscaper after reading your post. He said that our hill was very steep and the clay soil very dense. Since we have been having lots of rain (floods and dams overtopping, LOTS), he wants to leave the rope on to stablize the tree for a while. He said that by late fall, he will (or we can) remove the rope. In fact he was a bit concerned the tree would slip within the hole. He told me if at any time the tree didn't look straight I should give him a call. As to the burlap, he was really unconcerned saying it would take long to rot away.

Did your landscaper not amend the soil with anything? Heavy clay soils need to be amended with pine bark.....nothing else. And, I agree with plantfreak "If the landscaper left the tree with the rope tied around the trunk in any way, he's an idiot. Don't use him again." Rope and burlap should have been removed. As to the tree being above the ground level, that one is good, they do need to be above the ground level.

I'm not sure how the rope around the rootball would stabilize the tree. Why not use a staking kit? And I agree with bugme about the soil amendment. Here we call it pine bark soil conditioner but it's just bark that's been chopped up, composted and aged.

Yeah, sorry, I think that sounds odd too. Can you call the competition and ask or write an ask extension? If it makes you feel any better, I just dug up a sand plum shrub that the landscaper left in its metal cage. It was dead, naturally.

In any case, stake the tree for two years. As for leaving half of the root ball exposed, just so you know, it's those fine little hair roots that feed the tree. The big ones are for stabilization only. Tree roots are surprisingly shallow (only 3' in NE) so I would definitely consult some other professionals if half of that is exposed during the summer heat.

Italent, even staking is not recommended. If the tree is planted PROPERLY, (and that is a big IF) it needs to be able to sway with the wind.

In some areas though if you have strong winds on a regular basis you do need to stake for the first year until the roots get going--otherwise the wind comes along and the rootball pulls right out of the ground and the tree falls over. Where I am if my young trees weren't staked, none of them would make it through their first year because of the wind we have almost every single day. So they all get staked, but not really tightly--the top still can sway in the wind, just not so far that the rootball will start to pull out of the ground.

Staking is used in lots of places. Perhaps it depends on winds etc., but it's common here in the northeast. The NYC parks department does it and they are currently planting 100,000 trees a year. Nothing tight, just a loose ribbon with two posts. The ribbons don't do a thing if it's not windy, but when a storm hits, they work nicely and don't harm the bark. Of course, these things are all up to the individual and the size of the tree. I've certainly planted trees and not staked them too. Either way, leaving the rope on a rootball for stabilization still seems illogical to me. It means you are going to be messing with the roots in a couple months, just when they've started to settle in. I'd consult another professional. You don't want to lose a new tree.