[gfmucci]

Here are some images of the "staking job" of an area landscaper.

This first image is of their second attempt at staking two weeks prior to the photo being taken:



Here are two trees they installed, and the results of their staking job after two attempts... The rope on the ground and 2x2 is the beginning of my re-do work that I shouldn't have to do.


Here is a tree they installed that they staked with STRING...


...and a close-up


Unfortunately, before I realized that their "no staking policy" was just a cheap way around their "get paid" policy, I referred them to a couple down the street. Now I'm trying to make up for it. We should have known better than to be advised that "you don't have to stake your trees." Or "staking is not good for them" as we were advised. Every landscaping book on the planet devotes the first several pages on how to plant trees. They all advise to stake securely on three sides using a wide material or other protective device that will not cut into the tree.

Why are people our age, who should know better based on our years of knowledge and life experiences, so gullble when an "expert" tells us something we really know is not true?