Many experts now say to stake nothing. If where you planted, the root ball cannot hold the top steady in the wind, you will need to stake it. With a 9' tree, you will probably need to stake. Usually 2 stakes are sufficient. Leave about an inch or two of slack so the tree can move some. Every 60-90 days loosen to provide another inch or two of slack. The goal is to remove the stakes completely after a year.

Deciding when a tree can blow over if not staked requires some experience and judgment. My new house in Winchester is on 8 acres and I have planted about 125 trees. Not as many as it sounds like--there are lots of big open areas left. Anyway, I have staked only about 15 of these trees and have the one mistake I reported earlier. One test is to take the trunk in your hand after planting and give it a really good tug to simulate a wind stronger than you would expect. If the earth in the root ball does not bulge up and the trunk does not move so far to one side that it leaves a kind of open gap on the other side, there is no reason to stake. A very flexible trunk reduces the need to stake. I planted three 5 foot green giants last spring and the trunks were so flexible that most of the pressure was taken from the base of the trunk as it entered the root ball. When the strong winds came they bent way over, but there was no movement in the root ball or losseness at the base of the trunk. It would have been silly to waste time staking these guys. A lot of my trees have been two and three feet tall and did not need to be staked. I think I staked just about 4 of these small trees because there was no root ball to speak of and they were essentially bare root and would have worked themselves loose in the wind. As for the topic of this post here, the holly trees--my guess is that the trunks are fairly stiff, and the tops with their evergreen leaves will provide a kind of "sail" that will catch a lot of wind. And the trees are expensive and hard to find. I wouldn't dream of not staking these trees unless the root ball is really, really firm, and they are planted so the rootball is really anchored in the soil. Of course if they are planted in a place protected from the wind the risk is much less. My place here is like a wind tunnel. From the end of October to the middle of May there is a really high probability of wind gusts in excess of 60 mph, and I want to plan for at least 75. (I may seem to be exaggerating, but in the last two years three houses within a mile of here have had their siding stripped off by these winter winds--but that's another story.) And then of course there are summer thunderstorms and straight-line microbursts filled with rain that can put a tremendous force on the top of a little newly planted tree. Yeah, maybe those storms don't hit every year, but as soon as you have $3,000 invested in some really special trees you can bet one will hit. So I make my decisions to stake with that in mind. With these hollies, I would keep them staked until about August 20 of next year after the worst of the thunderstorm/microburst season is over and the roots have had a chance to grow into the soil surrounding the original root ball. --Spruce

the hanging of the tip is natural .... as the plant grows skyward ... it never fails to amaze me.. that the thing every gains height ... that said.. at the size you have.. i would stake it for two reasons ... one to encourage it up.. but more importantly ... AS A MARKER SO YOU DONT STEP ON THE DARN THING ... or the dog.. or the kids ... tie it loosely ... and dont tie too close to the top... for fear of breaking wood that cant hold the tie.. ken

Take the stake off and discard it unless it is a plant that needs to be staked for height. If that is the case a permanent stake is required or it will lay down. What is the cultivar name??? Dave