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Remove the burlap and excess soil over roots

Remove burlap from the top of the ball to allow water and air to freely flow into the root ball. This also makes is easier to check for and treat root defects.

This tree is too deep in the root ball. The way to determine this is to notice the dark, moist area (see arrow) on the very base of the trunk where it meets the soil. This is the buried portion of the trunk that should be above ground. There should be roots growing from the trunk near the soil surface, but none are visible on this tree. This tree died two years after it was planted because it was too deep in the root ball at planting.

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