Ken, Way to stick with the topic! Greatplainsturf, You say you plan on going back later and removing the top burlap and you should. I'd leave the stakes for now as long as they are loose enough to allow some movement. I understand you get high winds there. Maybe you addressed this and I missed it but, will the seller not honor the warranty if you remove the burlap now? Is that the issue? Are these the seller's planting instructions or are they warranty terms? It might be worth asking. If seller won't replace the tree if you take off the burlap and most of the basket and it dies, and that's a concern, then follow his instructions and leave all in place till the tree leafs out. If seller ok's it, I'd redig around the rootball, cut off as much wire and burlap as you can and backfill. I think the pipe needs to go. I've transplanted a few trees this size with my better half, a strong and determined German, a pickup with ramps and a dolly. I was out of my mind and would never do it again. Smaller is better for oaks with taproots. I understand why you did it, that's an impressive tree. Barb

Stay on top of the water, especially this summer, but don't overwater. You can kill some trees easily overwatering as well as underwatering. I bought a bur that size 4 years ago, and if I can find the watering instructions that I used, I'll post them for you. Mine was 4" caliper, and came in a 45 gallon bucket. Bur oak is a very hardy native, and that's the only reason yours is not dead already. Give it some TLC and it will reward you and your neighbors' offspring for many years to come. Remove the stakes after one growing season. The stakes will weaken the tree if the trunk is not allowed to naturally sway in the wind. Make sure the root flair is exposed...this is very important for the long term health and overall vigor of the tree. If the root flair is underground, carefully expose it and remove any roots that are girdling the trunk. Finally, apply mulch - 3 inches - all around the base of the tree out to the drip line. Compost, shredded leaves or shredded cedar are all good choices. The idea of the mulch is to promote tree roots to grow out, aid in moisture retention of the soil, and help prevent competition from surrounding grass and weeds. The tree will take awhile (up to 3 years) to fully establish, but you will see the leaves get larger and more numerous every year. After 3 years the tree will not need any more help from you and should make it fine on its own. Just for comparison, my tree only had 5 or 6 acorns it's first year in the ground. The next year, 25. Last year, over a 100 (but less than 200). So far the acorns have never been a problem because the squirrels eat every single one in November...it only took a couple of days.

Thanks guys, especially Ken, who knows and contributes a LOT more about trees than I, hence the "expert" designation. This tree was pretty much a "if you don't dig it out Thursday evening, we're going to cut it down Saturday morning" deal. I knew it was a hit or miss. Though it's "big", it's growth seems to have been stunted a bit by where it was originally planted, under other larger trees. It's trunk is no larger than others I've dug up, and there just weren't very many roots to dig up with it, though I started digging 3' from the trunk. The canopy isn't much, it looks more like a tall stick with some branches growing out of it. While the leaves are brown, they're not all dry and crinkly, and they haven't fallen off. It's interesting that Scotjute mentions that it was not unusual for his smaller trees to lose their leaves after transplanting and generate new leaves later. Patience doesn't cost anything, and it's an interesting experiment... Thanks! vince

Flower color will be the same on any oakleaf - white, but will often fade/age to a dusty pink or red, infrequently even a deep wine red. Maximum leaf size generally develops as the plants mature, but 'Snow Queen' probably produces the largest. Among others, I grow 'Little Honey', a gold leaved variety that is supposed to be compact/dwarf in habit but it is producing some whopping sized leaves this season. Easily 8-9" long and 5-6" wide. And it's about 12 years old.