Yes, I'd do as he suggest above. The purpose of it is twofold, support and sunscald. I'm thinking that the foliage may do the job of sunscald protection now, hopefully.

tsugajunkie, I am sorry to say that I don't know what root flare is. Is it the same as the root ball? If so, it is just under the surface and covered with about an inch or two of dirt. Right under the white plastic in the picture is the dirt because the instructions said not to let the mulch (which I put on top of the dirt) touch the tree so I left a few inches of exposed dirt all the way around. I hope that was right. There was no burlap on it anywhere. So, I will remove the plastic and pull up the stake. Thanks.

Here is a close up at the ground. The tree came in a 5 gallon plastic container with the stake right next to it. The instructions said to loosen and break up the substrate when placing it in the hole and plant just deep enough for the root ball to be even with the surface. I put some dirt on it though and maybe shouldn't have?

Root balls are notorious for covering the root flare. That is the area at the bottom of the trunk where the trunk flares out where the roots start. That needs to be above ground. If your tree looks like a telephone pole stuck in the ground with no flare at the soil level, then it is planted too deep and should be corrected. Dig down around the trunk to see how far down it is even if it means digging into the root ball.

tj

Thanks tj, I will fix that first thing tomorrow. Appreciate it greatly.

Done.

Do you have deer or rabbits in your area? I've found that I need to put some protection around the trunk to help my young maples when they're vulnerable to scraping or nibbling.

If there are enough leaves to shade the trunk I usually just put a loose cylinder of chicken wire around the trunk. If the trunk isn't shaded, which can lead to sun scald, I use that white wrap-- but not the one you had. I like to use one with a lot of circular air holes in it, to allow the trunk a lot of circulation. I also go out and jostle it every couple of weeks, to make sure it's not full of grass clippings or insects.

Magpiepix, thanks. Lots of deer and rabbits around so I will be sure to pick up some chicken wire today and take care of that.