quickly.....help to protect my new tree

[trouble 000]

ive got a ornamental tree planted it my garden but every now and then a kids football comes in the garden and hits it !!...its ok so far...what could i do to protect it..its still quite twiggy but has been staked...is there anything i could put around it until it a bity older and stronger

[annie0000]

Best way to protect it is to keep the ball until the parents come and ask for it back and then make it clear to them that you have no wish to spoil the childrens fun, but they are damaging your property and that is unacceptable. They should take the kids to the park to play with the ball or be prepared to pay the bill to replace the tree.

[trouble 000]

weve already gone down that route.....but arent always in when it happens...i wondered if anyone knew where i could get one of those wire surrounds from to protect until established

[annie0000]

So do the kids just go and get the ball themselves? My kids wouldn't see the light of day for a week if i caught them going on to somebody's property without their permission.

Could you maybe form something using chicken wire? Wouldn't stand up to too much punishment I guess, but would maybe reduce the impact - if you added a few spikes on the top to punture the ball, mightened be a bad thing either.

I am not anti kids by the way , I have two boys aged 8 and 7 that are not averse to a bit of football, but unless the are playing with a foam ball, they need to take it to the playground or I take them to a park. It's all about consideration for others. My neighbours little boy regularly kicks a rugby ball around the street and despite me telling both him and his parents on several occaisions that it is not suitable to play with it in the middle of a housing estate, he still does. It is only a matter of time until he breaks a window or damages a car and then they will know all about it!!

What about this?:

http://the-plant-directory.co.uk/greenhouse-mi ni-4-tier-p-2401.html?zenid=f3ba4419618463a3aa a4036c58483291

[craft1948]

http://www.designermetal.co.uk/tree-guards.htm

[carlton23]

Very nice link craft1948 but blimey, what a price. I made my own out of tall bamboo canes and linked them together with Steele wire for rigidity. Saved pounds.

[trouble 000]

thanks for your replys...ive got a stiff wire mesh which ive bent into a circle and put around the tree and held it down with tent pegs....so far so good

[woofgang]

a bit of vandal proof paint on your fence maybe?