I have been designing and marketing tree tubes for 23 years. The biggest headache was always finding a stake material worthy of the tree tubes. Eventually enough customers bragged about using 1/2″ schedule 40 PVC for stakes that I had to test it myself. Problem solved! PVC stakes are the best tree tube stakes you can use…
… and emails keep agreeing! I got this one over the weekend:
“We had a couple of storms recently with 60 to 70 MPH winds and the tubes stood up to it very well.”
Meanwhile the trees inside those tubes would have been swaying with the wind, which triggers growth responses that allocate more growth resources into thickening and tapering the stems and root development.
I just hope those same storms also brought some desperately needed rain to that area of the Midwest… for all of those plants unlucky enough not to have tree tubes!
