But experience has proved this wrong.

Apr 07, Well not really, but if you take a corner of the burlap and apply a small flame to it with a match or lighter you’ll see that the natural burlap will burn, but the poly or plastic burlap will melt.

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Cut the Strings and Let em Fly!Estimated Reading Time: 8 mins. Remove all treated burlap or synthetic burlap (also likely to decay slowly) from root balls at planting time. Bill Elmendorf in the SAF Urban Forestry Working Group Newsletter, Winter says: For balled and burlapped (B&B) trees, the root ball should be compact and firm, not loose or cracked. You can leave the portions of the wire basket and burlap that are beneath the rootball, especially if you’re transplanting large trees.

All young, newly planted trees need time to develop solidly anchoring roots that will keep the tree stable in windy, stormy weather.

The important parts to remove are the wire and burlap that are across the top of the rootball and around its sides. This is where both anchoring and feeder roots spread out into the surrounding soil.