I'm no expert but it looks pretty good to me! :-) Should be a good shade tree. Was it planted on the south side of the house?

Good job on the planting and mulching and very beautiful house also.

Thank you, it's actually NNE of my house. The south side of my yard is going to have some flowering crabapple trees to help the bees out and I'm leaving it partially open to hopefully buy a boat someday a few years down the road and park it over there.

I wouldn't leave that tree wrap on for the summer. It can hold moisture and invites insects. During the late fall and winter/spring it would be fine because it helps prevent sun scald. I'd also put a rabbit tube on for winter.

Edit: Once the tree wrap is off, Make sure your ties are of a material that won't chaff the bark. Soft nylon is good but some types of woven nylon, like the kind used for ropes and straps, can be very damaging to tree bark, especially maple tree bark because it's so thin when the tree is young.

The ties I have on it right now are soft braided polyester rope threaded through clear flexible tubing. should I leave the tubing on or cut it off and just have the soft rope on the tree?

I almost bought a rabbit tube too. What exactly do rabbits to the the bases of trees? I've always just heard to put one on young trees but never heard why.

The clear flexible plastic tubing is fine. I have it on some of mine where braided cord is used to support the tree.

Rabbits, mice and even squirrels can chew the bark down to the wood, essentially cutting off the cambium layer that supplies the upper part of the tree. This is usually done during the late fall/winter/early spring when other food is scarce. Not sure what your location is but in warmer climates this might not be a problem.

I like the white plastic corrugated kind. Usually put them on in the fall. They reflect sunlight that reduce chances of sun scald. On a long trunk like yours, you could put 2 of the 24" kind and cover most of the trunk and not need tree wrap.

My location is Somerset WI. Zone 4, aside from maybe the last half of July and the first half of august I wouldn't consider this climate warm by any stretch haha.

Gardengal - excuse my newbie terms, I just meant I was looking for one without split trunks or any weird bends in the main trunk.

I definitely would use rabbit tubes then. You might get by for a couple of winters and then take an unexpected hit that can be a devastating set back.

I make sure the tubes are tight to the ground so mice can't take advantage. Your tree is big enough that mice may not bother it, key words 'may not'. ;-)

Here is another idea regarding staking of trees.

"The tree needs to be tied between 2 stakes in a way that it can still sway in every breeze but not be blown over or snapped in half. "

"The idea is to use the minimum stake and tie possible so the tree trunk can move in the slightest breeze and flex its “muscles.” Much like a human arm in a cast, if you keep a tree immobilized, it’ll lose strength. But if you let it bend and flex, it’ll become strong. Then you’ll be able to remove those stakes entirely within 18 to 24 months"

Beautiful tree btw ----

from this article staking trees