I purchased this 4-5 ft Alaskan cedar from the nursery and it has bamboo poles tied to the trunk all of the way up to the top. When do I take these poles off?
when the stem will support itself, usually these are on the plant in its youth to get a nice straight trunk. and FWIW, its also known as Xanthocyperus nootkatensis
Check roots for spiralling. Nurseries leave propagules in small pots too long, then have to stake them to get an erect top because these have a narrow corkscrew of roots below the trunk that is not adequate to support the weight of the top. Later roots escaping this mis-configuration are able to hold the tree up--but the deformity is still there, perhaps causing failure sometime in future if not corrected (if possible) at planting. I have had 20-year-old shrubs topple under damp snow loads, to reveal terrible knotting of roots right at the base of the stems which apparently acted as a fulcrum for them to pivot over on. I seldom buy staked, wobbly trees and shrubs because of this pervasive problem. Other shoppers need to boycott these commonly offered defective products as well, voice their objections so the industry wakes up.
The tree's bamboo pole was just touching the top of the root ball. It will stand pretty sturdy without any poles. I took them off last night because the green stretch tape was very very tight. There are no poles on it now, but should I tie one on the upper trunk near the top to keep the very top from weeping, to promote a higher straight growth?
