Question
Hi Jim,
Please forgive me if this question does not fall into your area of expertise.  We recently had two white pine evergreen trees planted behind our house.  The workers who planted the trees staked both of them.  I've read that staking evergreens is not recommended unless the tree is more than 8' tall and/or the conditions are overly windy.  In fact what I read said that the trees will grow stronger without being staked.  We live inland in central NJ where it's not particularly windy except during the occasional strong thunderstorm.  The pines are approximately 7' tall.  Would you recommend removing the stakes or should they remain?  Thank you for your assistance.

Answer
I agree with the planters.  Since the trees are 7 feet tall I would leave the stakes until next spring by that time the tree should have a established root system that will hold the tree upright. Remove the stakes next spring say in late May. This will give the tree time for new growth in the spring.