The main problem for the trees is that they'll be entering the winter season with very low carb reserve in the root system. With the grasshoppers devouring the leaves, your trees have not been able to manufacture and store photosynthates. That's bad enough in and of itself! But they are using what little energy they have to make more leaves at the time of year when they would ordinarily be shutting down. That's a BIG double whammy. It will be next spring and summer that will reveal the extent of the damage. It takes enormous stored energy reserves (which your trees simply do NOT have) to produce the spring flush of growth. Your trees will attempt to remetabolize (is that a word?) carbon stored primarily in the root system....at the sacrifice of that already tapped out root system. The very best thing you can do is what you have already done...mulch and provide water if needed. I would avoid any kind of fertilizer that might force artificially rapid growth, so that the trees can begin to recover at their own rate. IF they can. Trees, if they are reasonably healthy in the first place, can bounce back from insect defoliation, but not if it happens over and over. Since this is only the second year, I'm going with Dan on this....your trees have a pretty good chance of recovering.

lynnie - it's Winter, even in Milan. Your parsley is doing what it's supposed to, ie die down in Winter. In a South facing window indoors it will grow just grow sickly. It needs a rest. Put it back outdoors and leave it alone. It will grow again in the Spring and then it will flower. As soon as it starts putting up its flowering stalk you need to get a new plant which in turn will live for two years. Your rosemary, sage and thyme are all evergreen shrubs or subshrubs. They will keep going through the Winter, although they won't be actively growing very much. You could have them for years.

Bill: It's always bad. They're always raising water prices and restricting us of usage, but this year is BAD. Hopefully the rest of this month and march pans out. After that, we get very, very little rain traditionally. All of SoCal is actually considered desert. We have to import the majority of our water. I'll get by --- you can have your 3 feet of snow and subzero temps. :P Alex: I usually start them at the beginning of the year. But, between a major toothache, contemplation over the drought to do anything at all, and overall procrastination, I just started a few days ago. Looking for the little tails peeking through paper towels daily. Overlap? Sometimes, not always. I'm usually pulling plants late Dec/Early Jan, but even the little frost we've had didn't do in 3 of my chinenses that still had tons of pods. This year I pulled all my annuums and chinenses that were podless when it got cold(anticipation) and they were just slowing for the winter. I should have let them be, but if a plant is going to sit around for 4 months not producing, it not worth my effort(watering, pest control, etc). Thanks All. Kevin

tough to opine without a pic ... but a lot of conifers do not have dormant buds .... so they can not.. rebud at a later time ... just prune back to live growth ... and over the years.. the hole will disappear .. no real instant gratification here ... just time ... so then it devolves down to.. can you look at it.. as it is ... if not.. get rid of it ... if it were out back on my 5 acres.. i have a lot of patience ... out in front of my front door ... it might bug me.. and i would put it out of MY misery .. really need a pic to help you with that decision ... do not waste any more money.. ever.. pumping fert into the ground ... if you feed your lawn.. the trees get what they need.. and you chance double feeding it ... frankly .... mature trees.. IMHO... NEVER need fert ... ken