The Story of the Wire Tree Basket

The wire basket was first used by nurseries in the mid 1960’s. The basic style has remained virtually unchanged as there was no reason to change the vertical loop, horizontal ring design. Nursery crews put forth the effort to crimp or pigtail baskets to achieve the right fit.This costly step became the accepted practice.

NYP Corp., the company that introduced “No-Rot” burlap, created the Diamond Tree Basket®. This revolutionary, patented, geometric, diamond design streamlines digging operations, enhances the product and customer satisfaction, and improves the bottom-line.

After years of development, testing, and rigorous field trails, the Diamond Tree Basket® was launched. Testing was performed in all soil conditions and soil types. The mostly commonly used hydraulic spades, both old and new, were used in the field tests. Crews dug and packed a wide variety of field grown trees and shrubs. The results were conclusive, the Diamond Tree Basket outperformed the traditional loop and ring style basket in all key areas such as fit, finishing time, ball durability, ball lifting to load, and overall appearance.

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The Diamond Wire Basket® Advantage

It consistently surpasses traditional loop and ring baskets in performance, offering superior strength, durability, and tree stability.

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Lower Costs

• Low acquisition costs due to automated manufacturing in North Carolina
• Single wire construction means each crimp impacts the entire basket leading to less crimping and faster completion
• Consistent construction minimizes replacements, and easy handling reduces planting labor time

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Eliminating Weak Points

• Continuous Single Wire Construction
• Strong but flexible wire
• No butt welds to fail like traditional loop and ring style that average ten butt welds per basket
• Diamond angular cross welded intersections distributes stress throughout the frame

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Conforms to Root Ball

• Engineered to contour seamlessly to the natural shape of the root ball as no two root balls are identical
• Closes tightly around the root ball when top lacing tightened
• Accommodates irregular shaped root balls without time consuming crimping
• Perfectly flat bottom to stand up straight for a better looking tree

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Fits Multiple Tree Spades

• Testing with most popular tree spaces, both new and used
• As every farm is different, it may require adjusting basket size and angle for the best fit
• 22° Truncated or 25° Vermeer angles
• Both Short and Standard heights
• Widths from 14” to 40”

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Did You Know?

The Diamond Wire Basket® is

• Manufactured in North Carolina
• Made from Class 1 Galvanized Wire
• Automated construction provides basket consistency
• Baskets nest for easy movement from location to location
• Showcase the natural beauty of each tree's root ball

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Frequently Asked Questions

What makes the Diamond Wire Basket® different from other baskets?

Our Single-wire construction uses a patented technology that provides strength to maintain the tree ball while also creating a better-looking tree. The single-wire means there are no structural welds to hold the basket together that are common from most loop and ring manufacturers.

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Where did the name Diamond come from?

The names comes from the wire making a diamond shape as it is laced/welded

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The wire is easy to crimp, does this mean it is not as strong as other wire baskets?

No. We use wire that is pliable that allows it to be crimped (bent) but is still more than strong enough to hold the root ball in place during harvest, staging and transportation. NYP Corp stands behind our baskets holding up to the needs of our grower partners.

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Is the crimping process more efficient than with standard loop and ring baskets?

Absolutely! With most competitive baskets, they are made up of multiple pieces of wire requiring crimping across the ball. With the single wire construction of the Diamond Wire Basket®, each crimp pulls the entire basket tighter meaning far less crimps are needed.  Less crimps is less time spent on the tree which relates to cost savings.

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How well do Diamond Tree Basket® holdup during tree transport and staging?

Since the basket is designed to tighten around the root ball during lacing, as well as crimping, it creates a nice tight root ball that stands up to handling and transport. In our field work there is typically no need to re-lace or re-crimp as trees are handled and lifted for loading and unloading.

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How well do Diamond Tree Basket® hold up during tree transport and staging?

Since the basket is designed to tighten around the root ball during lacing, as well as crimping, it creates a nice tight root ball that stands up to handling and transport. In our field work there is typically no need to re-lace or re-crimp as trees are handled and lifted for loading and unloading.

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How do I determine what size Diamond Wire Basket® I should use?

There are many determining factors and at the end of the day, it is best to try out the baskets to determine which one works best for you.  A starting point is understanding what type of digging spade you are using as well as the size of root ball you are aiming to dig. The two most common spades are the 22° which is known as a truncated or the 25° which is for the Vermeer Spade.

Work with the local NYP Corp Sales Manager who can help you to find the best fit for your plants. As our baskets mold to the root ball, the fit is different from the old-fashioned loop and ring basket. We have found that the age of machinery, crew experience and soil type have a significant impact on what Diamond Tree Basket® fits best and only by using them can tweaks be made.

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What do I need to know about your extra ear design?

Diamond has an extra ear compared to ring/loop baskets; 5 vs 4 up to 22”; 6 vs 5 24”-30”; 7 vs6 32” and above. It is due to the single wire continuous design, and the way the wire is wound to create the Diamond pattern. Many customers like the extra ear because it adds more structural integrity to the root ball as a whole, and makes a nice tight root ball. At first glance this might sound like an issue, but once the crews get to learn the process, they can lace the tree is the same time as they have done with the previous baskets.

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Where are the baskets manufactured?

We are proud that the Diamond Wire Basket® is manufactured in Lumberton, North Carolina by our dedicated staff utilizing state of the art machinery designed just for our baskets. This efficient process allows us to pass on savings with lower prices than handmade baskets from many domestic competitors or baskets from overseas.

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What about baskets larger than 40”?

Right now, our machinery is not set up to produce larger sizes, but that is something that we continue to explore.