My 2 cents, First, I agree that it's best to start out slow. 2) remember different trees will grow to different heights and so how you group them will make a difference. Don't assume one standard spacing will work for all trees. It won't. A good nurseryman will be able to tell you the height and width of the mature tree on the root stock you are getting. Be sure you find a GOOD nurseryman, not one who is guessing. and it is WELL worth the extra few dollars to buy from a good nursery, not Home Depo unless you are sure the variety is exactly the same, including the root stock. 3) I love Dave Willson trees BUT I do NOT like the idea of planting 2 or 3 trees in one hole. If you have very limited space and you can only fit 3 trees in your whole yard, it is a tolerable way to squeeze in more than one, but I don't like it when you have the room for more. 4) mulch! I use a little manure the first year to kick start the tree and help the soil. But after the first year, mulch is all you need. Mulch Mulch Mulch. Now for varieties and what to plant, consider this. You live in an area where you can grow a great many things that will not grow in to many places in the world. Consider growing the things that 1) are never really good tasting in the store or 2) the more exotic things you can not buy or 3) are ridiculously expensive to get good quality. For me, in the first category is a good peach. There is NOTHING that can compare to a peach you just picked at the peak of perfection off your own tree, sweet, juice running down to your knuckles. OHHH MY! I also use a lot of lemon so I would not want to be without a good Lisbon and a good Meyer. But then comes the hard choice. Do I really want to take up space with an orange? or do I want to grow something that I can't really get in the store. That is where the CA Rare Fruit growers is awesome. As mentioned above, they can help you choose some amazing fruit that will do well in your yard. Loquat, leachee, passion fruit... the list goes on depending on what YOU like. and every fruit has it's own characteristics. Oranges and most citrus do well off the tree so they ship well and the stores have good quality. Burgandy oranges are hard to find though, so some specialty citrus may find a place. Pears actually require picking early and cool or cold storage to reach peak quality so again, the stores can have good quality. But something like a peach is not as good picked green and shipped, so peaches move up my list, as do all the stone fruit (plums, apricots and so on) It is just pathetic what they call an apple in the store, but apples will require a lot of spraying and you may not want to do that. So, when you open the nursery catalogs, and everything looks good, remember some of the other reasons for making a choice. happy growing! Arthur

Ray, In terms of you time availability I would try to stick with easier care trees. You may get a vast diversity of opinions to your questions, but the following comments are based upon my locale/climate. Fruit trees do best with a weed free strip under the canopy. I use mulch, primarily free wood chips from local tree crews. Trees in direct competition with weeds for nutrients and moisture don't perform as well. This is especially true for smaller trees (Think of how poorly an un-weeded garden performs.) In terms of varieties, there are so many different tastes out there, I think you almost have to try some to determine what you like best. You could just go ahead and start planting trees without investigation, but you'll end up removing a lot of trees in the end (as I have done). More investigation will save you money and time in the long run. For apples, I suggest you try tasting several varieties this fall. There is a place you can purchase boxes of mixed apple varieties that may give you an idea what you like. It's called Applesource. Apples are grown in southern IL, so the growing conditions should be fairly similar to yours. Below is a link. Apples are subject to about 3 major diseases in our area, Fireblight, scab, and rust. Depending on the level of susceptibility of the various cultivars you choose, you may or may not have to spray to control these diseases. It's almost certain you'll have to spray apples to control insects. In terms of a harvest horizon, the soonest you would expect to get apples would be about 4 years (+ or - 1 year). This can vary widely with cultivar. There's about a million different cultivars to choose from. Pears are easier than apples, but take a little longer to bear. Generally pears aren't subject to any disease around here expect fireblight, which can kill them quickly. I would recommend a fireblight resistant cultivar, of which there are many. Pears can sometimes be grown without any spray whatever. Here, codling moth gets about 70% of the mature pears, but we have pretty intense insect pressure, so results could be better in your area. Japanese hybrid plums are fairly easy to grow and bear quickly. European plums taste better in my opinion but take much longer to bear and generally aren't as productive. Peaches are easy to grow and bear the second year. They do require spray. Persimmons and Pawpaws don't require anything but mulching and pruning. Pawpaws have been hard for me to get started and I lost 50% of the ones I planted. In all your picks stick with varieties that perform well in the Midwest. The biggest problem with peaches and plums is cracking and bacterial spot. The biggest problem with apples and pears is fireblight. Generally proven Midwest varieties will have some resistance to these problems. Here is a link that might be useful: Applesource

Thanks for the replies... Toronado... I am just west of Atlanta, GA. Zone 7/7B. Soil is heavy red clay, slightly acidic. The location is full sun, and actually part of the reason for this tree it to provide shade for a Crimson Queen that has been roasting in full sun for years. it is surviving, but far from thriving. Ken... All good points. I wasn't sure what the easement was, yeah had not thought of that. This line in question would only effect us, as it is from pole to our house only. Which of course means in a storm we would be the only ones out on the street, and last to repair. A definite consideration. I think the problem has resolved tho. I was luckily able to reach Sooner Plant Farm, and they will be shipping me a 5 gallon Shantung Maple Fire Dragon in a month. From what I hear (and see) this tree is outstanding. Gorgeous red fall color, smaller/shorter... reaching 30' X 30' or so at maturity, excellent resistance to storm damage, and has a more branching type natural style rather than single leader. A perfect smaller maple to bonsai train... at least initially for the shape I need. Really looking forward to trying this. I will update as things go, starting with a pic after planting. Also attaching a cpl pics of fire dragon for any that have not seen one.

Heh, I've been known to get into enough semantical tangles here, I'll just say, I know all too well the definition of the word weed as any unwanted plant. Yes, I get that. I just don't happen to agree. I think weeds are first of all, non-native plants, usually herbaceous or grasses, which arrived in this continent with agriculture. So, whoever planted the first wheat or whatever early crop, likely brought seed from Europe and that seed-as do most batches-had foreign material in it consisting of the seeds of various species that have since gone on to populate every disturbed corner. And that disturbance is a key component to what in my world are weeds.....species that actually require the constant disturbance that is farming (or construction projects) to take hold to any extent. But that's just me and a few others. Everyone's got their own definition. Our former golf course guy used to say that the trees on the course were just "hard weeds". He was a funny guy. +oM