Now what I see a lot of people doing is placing two T-posts on either side of the tree with wire or webbing supporting the tree high on the trunk and this works, that tree is not going to budge. However, weaker and faster growing trees, all trees really, react to their environment. If, while young they grow in an environment where they are not affected by wind they will not grow in such a way to brace themselves against the wind making them weak and brittle. If, however, they are allowed to be blown around a bit and only staked in such a way to keep the root ball in the ground, they will be strong and wind resistant. So you will need three three to four foot stakes hammered into the ground outside of the planting hole at a steep angle. From these stakes you want wire with section of hose or webbing to be placed about two or three feet up from the ground. After about a year, they should be good to remove. I usually recommend removing stakes the fall after the year is up. So if you planted a tree any time in 2010, you should remove the stakes in the fall of 2011.
This marks the end of our Spring tree series, next week we will continue with our regular articles on other great and unique plants for you landscape.