OT: Wrapping trees in winter

[1centaur]

We wrap our Hinoki Cypress trees and boxwood hedges and a few other trees each winter to stop snow from crushing the branches. Because burlap is a bad thing to wrap trees with (though even Martha Stewart makes this mistake) we use wire mesh material to allow proper ventilation and sun exposure, but that is very difficult to work with. I am looking for an alternative that's light, easy to attach, and strong enough to pull tight around trees so the snow can't create a platform to sit on. I see Google references to plastic mesh but just can't seem to find a product made for the task. Arborists who have seen our method love it, but the cliche of burlap wrapping persists. I've even wondered if the 4-6 inch wide burlap ribbon pulled in a tight spiral might work while leaving gaps for moisture and sun, but don't know burlap well enough to know if it would rip when pulled tight (at full strength) around tree branches.

So Paceline intelligentsia, I'm looking either for a product designed to be better than burlap in that function, or an imaginative solution. Zip tying together bits of heavy wire mesh fencing each year gets old really quickly going up and around 15 foot trees and 30 foot hedges.

[MattTuck]

Sounds like you're looking for something that is very light, laterally stiff and vertically compliant :help:

Seriously, a cooperative extension for a local ag college might be a good resource for this type of question.