Do Newly Planted Trees Need Support ?

For years and years, newly planted trees of all shapes and sizes were routinely supported. The questions that were never really answered were :
‘For how long will they need that support ?’
and ‘Do they really need to be supported at all ?’
The truth is that up until more recently, we supported newly planted trees because we always have supported newly planted trees.

The other question is whether it is always beneficial.
Sometimes a tree simply snaps in half because of its support.

Here, three supporting stakes are used

… and guy ropes in this image.
So why do we need to support a tree at all?
Well, the main reason is to hold it in place to give the roots a chance to grow into the soil in which it has been newly planted so that it can support itself.
So how long does that take ?
Not as long as you might think.
