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

If anyone is interested in growing these, they are really super easy from seed--even without bottom heat--in January. It's funny, but I don't find them so slow--compared to a lot of other palms. Certainly no slower than dactyifera (true date), reclinata or sylvestris (maybe even on par with roebelenii). They do want some space in their containers or they won't do anything--just make sure the mix is really well-draining as they really hate wet feet. Unfortunately, while they tolerant prolonged chill in the winter, they can't take real cold (below 20 F.), especially if wet. They seem real common in SF Bay area.Caution: their spines can take out an eye.

This seems to be another of those gardening myths that just won't die. Tree roots do not directly damage structurally sound foundations. That is caused by subsidence or the shrinking and swelling of the soil surrounding the foundation due to seasonal changes in moisture levels. Soil produces enormous pressure against foundation walls - far more than any tree roots can - and subsidence with certain soil types (clay in particular) can exert enough pressure to cause shifting and cracking. Trees in close proximity can have an indirect effect on this in that they contribute to the changes in moisture levels that can create subsidence but they do not actually cause it. And should cracks or shifting appear in the structure, tree roots can then penetrate to cause additional damage.

Adrienne in Thousand Oaks: Regarding UC Verde Buffalo Grass, we installed it June 2021 so can attest to how it took watering twice a day to establish, then less frequently until we were watering twice a week with good results; I live in Thousand Oaks and were restricted to watering once a week for 15 minutes which was a good soak and it survived the limited watering last summer. When first planted as plugs we had a lot of weeds but it eventually filled in and is very thick. What we don't like is that is it dormant and brown in color from November to March; it has been slowly turning green in the last few weeks now that it is spring. It requires very little mowing, about once a month at most from spring to fall. The only way to buy it in Southern California is from FloraSource Ltd. They ship it as plugs in flats so it is labor intensive to have it installed; cost is twice that of sod.