Now! Unless the tree is falling over, it doesn't need staking. They grow much better free.

Also, you don't stake a tree like a tent: you drive a TALL stake next to the tree and use horizontal supports that are loose enough so the tree can move a bit in the wind.

http://www.basic-tree-care.com/2012/09/how-to-properly-stake-tree.html

what did you do to the root mass.. prior to planting...?? ... did you break up and untwine any circling roots????

did you elevate the root mass on planting ... ????

did you amend the planting hole???

what he said about staking ...he.. she.. it.... lol ...

depending on above answers i can see another year of proper staking ... depending on height of each plant ... e.g. a much smaller JM might not need it ...

ken

@lazygardens The spring is a bit elastic, so it leaves some space for the tree to sway. I wanted to get the tall stakes but could not find them anywhere!

@Ken, I slashed the rootball all around as well as the bottom. I made sure that there were no circling roots! I also planted it so that the root flare of the tree is visible. Took some soil off of the top of the pot. I did amend the planting hole with bagged soil.

Should I losen the stakes some more to leave space to sway. I am just very weary because when I planted it initially, the one stake untied and fell over.

The most I would leave it on is until fall 2014.

the question is ... how long will it take for your divergent backfill to settle into the clay hole you dug ...

in the alternative.. how long until the tree grows out of the backfill.. into surrounding soil ... to anchor itself in ... [and depending how bad that clay is.. it night not .. in the extreme example]

and since there is no real way to determine such.. i would default to an extra year or two of staking ...

but i highly suggest you stake it properly ... and i might even contemplate an actual splint to the trunk itself

what might happen.. when the canopy doubles this season.. is that in a high wind storm ... it has a potential to snap right where you have the 3 straps ... been there.. seen that ...

i also note.. for the height of that plant.. its an awful spindly trunk ... a bit of instant gratification in the purchase decision.. a plant a few feet less taller.. would be more in proportion to the top ...

if it snaps.. you will end up with the smaller tree ... so you are really playing some odds here ... that it can support the lush upper growth while it thickens its trunk ..

never fertilize that tree ... it will grow fast enough ... besides.. it looks like the lawn is fert'd.. so why duplicate such

good luck

ken

Thanks Ken!

I do think it will take to the soil (eventually) as there are trees planted in the front of each house in this development. None of which have failed. Its a fairly new development, this street is about 8-9 years old. They striped all the soil all the way down to the clay! It was next to impossible to dig, that said, it had been dried out.

I know that I did not need to stake my Red Oak (in my own yard) because of the quality of the soil.

The trunk is actually not as spindly as it looks in the picture.

I will make sure that she waters enough so that it can soften up the soil a bit for the roots to expand.

I will try to buy proper stakes in the spring.

Thanks

Update. So we have removed the stakes on her Autumn Blaze Maple as it grew like crazy this year! We also took them off the Japanese Maple. We were too scared to remove the Red Oak stakes, as the tree failed and fell over after it was planted. So we put loose stakes on it and have left it for another year. The stakes will not hurt the tree as we have made them loose. We put them just for a little reinforcement just in case!