Patent ID: 8567118

Claim:
A belowground apparatus for anchoring a tree, comprising: a flexible blanket made of biodegradable material defining a periphery, the blanket having a center opening and an elongated, radial slit extending from the center opening to the periphery, and a plurality of tie-holes disposed adjacent the periphery defined therein and a plurality of tie-holes disposed along opposite edges of the elongated radial slit, the blanket being dimensioned and configured for overlying a root ball of the tree, the center opening being dimensioned and configured for wrapping around a trunk of the tree adjacent the root ball and free to flex as the trunk expands in diameter; a plurality of grommets, each of the tie-holes having one of the grommets installed about the tie-hole; a plurality of ties fastenable between the plurality of tie-holes disposed along the edges of the elongated radial slit for fastening opposite sides of the slit together around the trunk of the tree; a plurality of stakes adapted for anchoring in a hole in the ground accommodating the root ball of the tree; and the plurality of ties extending between the tie-holes in the blanket and the stakes for securing the blanket over the root ball, thereby anchoring the root ball and the tree in the ground.