Staking Trees in the Landscape - In nature, plants are supposed to stand upright on their own. If they become unable to do so, they fall over and begin the process of returning themselves to the ground. In our landscapes, we want to give our plants all the help possible so occasionally, staking is used. New trees are often staked but this is not always needed. Many trees are damaged by being incorrectly staked causing damage to the bark. Also, trees are often left staked for far to long. If the tree cannot stand on its own after one or, at most two, seasons, there is something wrong.