If tree is container grown, cut and remove container.

It is important to remove the wire (and any burlap around the roots) AFTER the tree is placed in the planting hole and you are ready to replace the soil in the hole. If you remove the wire before placing the tree in the hole, there is a good chance that the rootball will be damaged when the tree is. Burlap and wire cages keep trees intact until they’re safely set in the planting hole.

At that point, you should remove most of the burlap and some of the wire. Do you take the burlap off when planting a tree?

I have 2 decent sized oak trees that have strands of barbed wire grown into them about 2'-4' off the ground.

For trees in wire baskets, cut and remove wire. Cut away strings & burlap or plastic, exposing root ball. Don't remove soil from ball. If tree is container grown, cut and remove container. Nov 18, I waited to long on several trees that I had wired up last year but also found several that removing wire from tree wire removed and had just wired them up earlier this year.

The plant may survive for several years, but then the roots will be girdled and cut by the wire.

If the wire basket prevents burlap removal, cut as much wire as you need to free the burlap. My personal technique is to put a tree in its hole, straighten it, stabilize it with a couple of shovel-fulls of dirt, then remove as much burlap and wire as I possibly can.

I use a razor knife and bolt cutters to accomplish the task. In your case, if you. Apr 04, Since the wire has been in there for 20 or so years and the tree has grown around it, I would just cut it close and leave it inside. If in the future you want to remove the trees and mill them, just nail a tree tag at the spot to indicate inside metal.

treeman73 Mar 30, Estimated Reading Time: 6 mins.