Abstract: Wire baskets to receive burlap bag wrapped root balls of trees and bushes have a large diameter top wire ring, a smaller diameter bottom wire ring, at least one intermediate wire ring and a plurality of U-shaped brace wires enveloping said rings in circumferentially spaced relation having the ends of the side legs thereof looped over the top and inner periphery of the top ring and the bight portions thereof underlying the bottom ring and spanning the bottom ring area in overlapped relation at a plurality of zones spaced from the center of the ring area to form a reinforced bottom. The brace wires surround and retain the rings and the intermediate and bottom rings are spot welded to the surrounding brace wires. The wire baskets house the root balls during storage prior to transplanting, during transportation to the planting site and are buried with the root balls at the planting site thereby preventing loosening of the earth surrounding the roots in the burlap bag wrapped ball.