You will need to remove it, because the tree will grow wider. I Would try to cut the stake (if possible) to the ground. If not, try to dig it out when the tree is dormant.

The stake is metal so theres no way to cut it. But what if the roots are growing around it? If I try removing it, then aren't I in risk of damaging the tree?

There are risks of damaging the tree, however if you do not remove it the tree will eventually girdle. Make sure to wait until winter when dormant, and the tree will recover from any damage easily.

Ok well if I do somehow cut that stake down to the ground, will that be alright? Or Will I have to completely get the stake out from the soil as well? I am thinking of buying a metal cutter to cut that metal stake down

I'm not sure the stake makes a big difference. Cut and remove anything that attaches the stake to the tree.

If the stake can be cut at ground level, then I would probably do that. One important consideration would be the danger of someone cutting into the tree with a chainsaw or stump grinder sometime down the road. If the stake cannot be removed from the ground without significant damage, then I would NOT do it!

I have no idea what Caldwell Home & Garden is talking about with respect to the tree becoming girdled. The only way I can imagine a stake girdling a tree is if the stake were bent all the way around the tree in a giant loop. Obviously, that isn't the case here (or maybe anywhere). If the tree was tied to the stake with wire or something like that, then those bindings might girdle the tree...but not the stake.

Except for aesthetics and safety (chainsaw hitting the stake), the stake would probably not cause any harm if just left in place. I've seen large mature trees with metal fenceposts embedded deeply into them or, in other cases, pushed aside as the tree grows. In almost all of these cases, the health of the tree was not impacted by the post.

I think by 'girdle' Caldwell H&G means 'encapsulate'.

Well here are some pics of it

Can you hook a jack into a hole in the stake and jack it out?

I have done something similar with a old fashion automobile bumper jack.

If you do not have a bump jack, you could attach a board to the pipe and use a screw jack lift it out

What do that metal thing in the bottom of the pole look like? Any edges that roots could hang on to, or is it just straight and smooth?

Ken I am in northern NJ, you've been answering a lot of my threads lol idk if you realize its the same person you keep giving advice too. And a hack saw will cut metal? Its a metal fence holding thing.

I am thinking the jack would be useful but without knowing where the roots are in the soil, I don't want to risk just pulling that thing out and damaging some of the roots.. What do you think? And on the bottom, if you look real carefully it has extended sides on both sides and the stake goes very deep in the soil. Possibly more than a foot I think.

The stake isn't going to bother the roots, but will be in the way of the tree as it grows. Whatever your course of action is, wait until the tree is dormant to minimize damage.

Ok I will wait for winter but which would you recommend, just cutting it down to the ground or entirely removing the stake? Which sounds best for you?

Dormancy will make no difference.

A hacksaw is used to cut metal. I'm of the opinion that you should remove the stake ASAP, as low as you can.

By the way, tsk tsk tsk (scolding you for neglecting to remove it all these years).

So wait, are you saying I should cut it down to the ground instead of pulling the whole stake out? And well I wasn't really into gardening until this year so I didn't really think about that :(

Blame it on your dad!

Those fins that are visible in the photo are typically not that far from the bottom of those tposts - maybe 10" or so at most. I'd try to just get the thing out. Water the area thoroughly so that the ground is soft, and see if you can yank it - sometimes you have to wiggle it back and forth for a while.. You can often use a couple of ropes twisted around the base to give you leverage. If it clearly won't come out, do as suggested and cut it off as low as you can. The stake will not kill (or even likely hurt) the tree, but it's not going to improve the tree's looks any.

sheesh ....

first the little thing sticking our of the ground.. is a triangle.. that is used with your boot.. to push the stake into the ground ... a lot of what is holding it in the ground.. is that surface .. plus the 6 or 8 inches of more fence post ..

B .... in tree time.. you have at least a year to get it out ... as many of us said.. friable soil varies during the season .. i suggested spring ...

https://www.google.com/search?q=friability&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8#q=friable+soils

III .. i suggested you gently dig around it .. as deep as you can.. without disturbing the roots ... hand trowel ...

fourth ... then just start working the thing back and forth ... so as to loosen the soils grip on the metal .... frankly.. we spent about 40 mins more time typing.. than it should take you to get it out ... turn off the computer.. and go try ... and if the soil is too hard ... try again in a month or 3 ....

i like that jack stand idea.. but much overkill on this post.. i am very familiar with them ... is is a rather small post ...

finally .. saw it off if all else fails ... use of a hack saw is not limited to a hack tree. .. lol

go do something.. and get some more info ... all this talk is not getting us anywhere ...

the bottom line.. is this tree has already dealt with this thing.. i highly doubt you need do anything at all about it. .in regard to the tree ...so all we are left with is .. how much is this bugging you ...

i do like the warning.. that this could be a big problem to a dude with a chain saw or stump grinder ... thats a good argument to just leave it there ... most ornamental plums are not long lived trees .. in tree time ... so this could be an issue ...

ken

Heruga, by all means pull the stake out if possible.

It's worth mentioning that most trees don't even need to be staked at all upon planting. It should only be done on an as needed basis....poorly grown plants, shifting soils, high winds, for example.

As Sarah says, it's not in the ground very far. Those fins are above the roots and won't hurt anything if pulled out. It shouldn't be much of a problem.

When my neighbor and I upgraded the fence between us I pulled up the posts just like that for a distance of 660ft. placed 8ft apart. Most were fairly easy.

Mike

and to be clear.. i would do the little bit of digging.. just to see if that triangle in the ground.. can move back and forth.. without chewing into a root ...

ken

Ok I will do what Ken said, and if I still can't get it out then Im just cutting it with a saw.

As others have said, that post should come out without too much problem. I was picturing a much worse situation. There is only a few inches of post in the ground and very little for roots to catch on. If the plate on the post were deeper, things might be different.

If you have to, tear off one of the tabs along the length of the post. That will open up a larger hole and allow you to stick a screwdriver or something like that through the post for leverage. That job should be real easy!

Well the other day I tried pulling the stake out and it didn't come out. And today I realized my Japanese plum tree leaves are starting to yellow(not completely yellow but greenish yellow) and falling. Could this be caused from stress because I tried to pull the stake out?(even though I couldn't)

NO! Trees don't react in such a short period of time (unless you do something drastic like spray them with hydraulic oil (which I did once a long, long time ago but that's another story). I can't keep up with the various weather issues around the country but if you're having a drought, it is possibly just reacting to that and beginning early dormancy.

Sara, but in the garden I work at a lightning struck a sycamore tree on the bark and the tree started losing a lot of its leaves like not even a week after the lightning stuck it. And we're actually not having a drought, its been raining every now and then. Here are some pics of the leaves on my tree. You can also see that they are drooping

A lightening strike is in the category of catastrophe. That tree burned. You wiggling a little stake around isn't going to matter. Drooping leaves could mean water stress or again, just early dormancy. Would be good to get input from people in your area.

Ok but wouldn't the leaves be completely yellow for an autumn leaf drop? I'm concerned because its yellowish green and not completely yellow.

The leaf issue and the stake have nothing to do with each other, for sure. If we are to attempt to diagnose the "leaf problem" we are going to have to have a lot more info (pictures, growing conditions, note on changes, etc).

Heruga - you started another thread on this topic and I have responded on that. The majority of leaves in your picture look fine. A few yellow leaves in late August really aren't worth worrying about and the stake wiggling won't have had any effect on the tree. Leaves do not necessarily turn uniformly in Autumn. Any which have had a few bugs or fungi will turn colour less prettily and often earlier. This does not mean there is a problem with the tree. It's just the nature of Nature. Plums are not know for Fall colour and yours looks absolutely normal to me.

Try a rental center for a T-post puller aka fence post jack. These should be pretty common in rural areas and will easily pull out the stake.

The post in the picture is not a T-post, and wouldn't work with any T-post puller I have ever seen. Also, from the picture, it doesn't appear that any special tools would be needed for removal. I could have that sucker out in less than 5 minutes, top!

Oh believe me, I tried to pull it so hard but the thing doesn't even move even a teeny bit. So its a matter of a person's strength? Does that mean I'm weak? lol

what did you find.. when you did the archeology digging i suggested ...

and i told you.. that you would not simply pull it out in august ...

ken

The first photo at the top clearly shows one of the common green T-posts sold by the millions for light and medium duty fencing. A T-post puller or fence jack can also usually be easily adapted to pull out other types of metal posts.

Even a bumper jack would work to get it out. Put it down next to the stake and bind another stake to the one in the ground with the bottom of it on the jack. Then jack away. 5 minutes tops.

Mike

I'd get that post out for aesthetics alone.

The anchor plate
looks to be right at soil level so it should come out fairly easily. I'd
get out there with a sledge hammer and knock it from side to side until
it loosens. You have to have good enough aim to not hit the tree,
but that's the fastest way to knock it loose. We've done it this way
several times and husband is good enough with a sledge that he's never
damaged anything.

"The first photo at the top clearly shows one of the common green T-posts..."

T-posts are called T-posts because they are shaped like a T if you look down on them. Then one in the picture I see is definitely not a T post. T-post pullers (at least the ones I have seen) rely on the studs/nubs found along the T-post to pull the post. The stake in the picture has no such studs/nubs.

BTW, fence manufacturers usually refer to the posts like in the picture as U-posts or U-channel posts. I've never seen a puller specifically for those types of less expensive U-posts, although they may be out there somewhere. There are also more expensive, industrial type U-posts, but that's a different thing.

T-post is a common name. No entity regulates the designation or usage of common names. You may call it a t-post, a u-post or a ridiculous-post, whatever works for you. There are regional differences that mean that the usage is not the same throughout the country. Where I come from, that was always caused a t-post. The correct Latin terminology is Postus verdis 'T'.

Probably the best tool to remove T-posts is a hiccup. Quolls also might work if you have one in your follicle. I have also seen smiles use ultraviolets. I'm sure Sara will agree!

OH, and BTW, the playwrights (what Sara might call T-post pullers) that I have seen don't work on those types of U-posts (or, what Sara would call T-posts).

Well, they are T-posts at Lowe's.

I've never seen a t-post puller. We always just use two ropes.

Cearbhaill, look at the picture in your link! It IS a T-post, and NOT what Heruga has at all. A "standard" T-post puller would work on the type you show, if that was what Heruga had (but it's not).

I use a T-post puller so often that, until I got this new truck, I used to keep one behind the seat at all times.