Not to dwell on it, but "around it" is different than below it. No claim can be proven on a forum without clear, indisputable evidence. ("Trust but verify") To demonstrate your point, submit a picture of an adult standing erect next to the tree with their head no farther than 6" away from the trunk. (Their face does not need to show.) When seen, it will believed. Post the picture directly into the thread, not a link. Take it from the same vantage point as this picture. If you don't want to trim the tree ... don't. There will be a consequence for no one but yourself.

When Heirloom Roses first announced that they would offer the gallon size, they said it was due to customer feedback asking for more mature roses. Here's the link to the original video: One Gallon Roses. Heirloom Roses changed ownership several years after this thread began. I've only have experience with them under the new ownership. I've been pleased with their well-rooted bands. However, I will receive a gallon size Julia Child this fall, because they were out of stock of the band size. I'm anxious to see the difference.

Lily, the Siberians, Japanese, and Spurias cannot be allowed to dry out at all. I'm not sure, so check on this, but I think they need to have the rhizomes buried. I believe Siberians and Japanese irises like richer soil, but I cannot grow them here so I really don't know much about them or how much foliage to trim. Bearded irises (tall bearded, standard dwarf bearded, arilbreds, etc.) should NOT be soaked in water because it causes them to rot. If you are soaking bearded irises pull them out of the water now and let them dry off in a cool shady spot. They should be planted with the rhizome tops at the surface of the soil, because they need good drainage. They do not like rich soil and should not have high-nitrogen fertilizer applied to them. For tall bearded irises you should leave as much healthy foliage as you can when you transplant them, but most people cut off the top of the foliage because it causes them to flop over and come out of the ground. You're fine with 6 inches. Three inches is awfully close to the rhizome, and I would not recommend it. Instructions are at the top of this forum under FAQs, if you need more info. Your holding area is a good idea. It will work just fine. Good luck, that's a big project! Renee Here is a link that might be useful: Gardenweb Iris Forum FAQs

I think given where you live, the warmer weather, and that it's a patio pond, you most likely don't need to worry about your fish going into semi-hibernation. And oh, trust me, the in-ground is a PITA to prep for winter! We have to drain all the underground pipes leading the the UV light and pump and filter. We have to empty the pump (easy) and shut it down, empty the buried bio filter (not easy, a lot of cursing and freezing hands!), and everything gets wrapped with insulation and covered (we don't have a pump house, just fake rocks covering things). I keep aeration stones going all year so no change there, but add a pond warmer (those usually last only a year), and well, you get the picture! Ha! Spring time we start everything up again, usually some troubleshooting involved, and there's the 'pea soup' to watch over - I usually let that remedy itself. Ah, cardboard. I finally learned about it last fall here on GW. Lifesaver! My DH thought I had lost my mind, but not anymore! I've also stockpiled newspapers to keep weeds down in our veg garden. "I think it would be cool to put some arching grasses around in areas and a bench!" Well, great minds think alike!!! Savannah Ruby grass I winter sowed last year, Shot up like gangbusters! Seating wall around the patio and I just flip my legs over to sit at the pond : ) Those bright red flowers just above are a compact zinnia but they took half the summer to really spread out. I'm thinking of adding more perennials, fewer annuals. We planted a sunflower and zinnia patch last year and it was wonderful so intend to do that again this spring... I added some daylilies and other bulb plants this fall, and where I'd planted blue forget-me-nots, I might dig those up and replace. They just were too leggy with no blooms to speak of. I tend to go overboard with flowers, and I need some greenery to break that up. It's all a work in progress as I'm doing it by the seat of my pants : ) I have kept my beds weeded so they aren't in bad shape, but two larger patches still need some plastic laid over them to tone down those thorny things before I can sow seeds this spring. I'm adding some pea gravel, small river rocks, large river rocks, and flagstones to the pond area leading over to the garden shed... Thought I'd do that this winter but the weather hasn't cooperated, and lack of time. I've got a small in-ground concrete pond in the front yard that I want to mosaic with a fish design. Yes, I've got too many plans! Truthfully, SJN, I'm running so behind that if I don't get started with winter sowing, I'll have to wait until next year. And speaking of roses (I didn't know you had roses!), I'm not happy with the front landscaping, so I'm pulling it out and re-planting with miniature roses I think. Maybe a smattering of white candy tuft. What mixes nicely with miniature roses in a small space? Gators... Now that would really give me the heebie jeebies! But no more than copperheads, which we have (and I'm betting you do too). Have you ever seen one on your property??