I'm not sure how generic "olive tree" is - if the OP is interested in a fruiting olive, there is only one species, Olea europea. Lots of cultivars, however :-) Black, green, brown, etc. But unfortunately they share a pretty uniform hardiness range. They are uniformly listed as at least a zone 8 plant (often higher), however olives do grow in some various zone 7 environments in my area but I suspect specific microclimates to account for that phenomenon. And it takes a much hotter summer than we can manage in a PNW zone 8 climate to get them to fruit. If interested in growing in cold zones, I'd suggest as a houseplant. There is a non-fruiting dwarf cultivar that is pretty widely available called 'Little Ollie'

just plant them .... the ground is not going to freeze in zone 5 [unless another ice age sneaks up on us] .... the roots will remain temperate ... perhaps you are confusing a frost or above ground freeze with soil freeze .... its just not going to happen in zone 5 in april .... presuming they are dormant .... meaning the buds are still tight and small ....you are not dealing with foo foo plants here ... these are extremely hardy trees ... just get them into mother earth and let her take care of them ... if the buds have broken and extended .. then a very heavy frost could damage them .... i might take a 5 gal pot... fill with some native soil .... and insert the whole bunch at once.. and hold them over in a garage .... for a week or two ... not too much water ... but damp .. same with the tsuga candensis .... put them in a wagon and pull them into the garage at night... otherwise outdoors during the day ... but not in the sun, as small pots can get too hot in the sun ... your timing is perfect for zone 5 ... dont worry too much about them ... however when dealing in bulk .. expect to lose one or two ... nobody and no plant is perfect in volume ... the most important thing is to get them into mother earth and let her take care of them .... either plant them ASAP .. or 'heal' them in and do so quickly .... good luck ken

Smittee, Lakeland looks like it is in zone 9a, therefore extra care should be taken to successfully grow papayas. see : http://www.thegardenhelper.com/map/hzm-se1.html Anyway, no one said they won't grow there, just that it's less probable unless protection is applied on those extra cold nights. Sure, I know a guy who planted a tiny Kent mango tree north of Clearwater, and watched it grow to a massive, healthy, 60 ft giant. But does that mean everyone there will be as successful ? Duh,..maybe 1.0 % of them. You already have the papayas so have at them. Just try to cover them and a bit of heat applied on those nights when it drops to 32 deg or lower. A word to the wise is all. Good luck, you certainly deserve it !

I would start looking for a replacement tree --- not for the reason you may suspect. In general, the ash trees are in trouble and many are starting into a slow decline. Unfortunately, we essentially made the same mistake with ash trees as we did with elm trees by planting too many of one species and not enough variety. When the elm trees died, almost everyone of them was replaced with an ash. Although ashes are a beautiful tree, they are suffering from an affliction called "ash yellows" or "ash decline". There is no treatment for it but the trees start showing a bit of stunted growth and a few branches, here and there, will start to die. This and the emerald ash borer have decimated the ash trees, particularly in the Detroit area where they compare this problem on a scale to Dutch elm disease. Fortunately, the emerald ash borer has not arrived in Iowa --- yet. In a simple case of frost bitten leaves, the trees are well prepared for this event. By nature, they have a lot of immature buds called "latent buds" (No, these are not next year's buds, Maude.) just waiting in the wings in case some injury (in this case frost) to replace damaged buds. It is true that a huge replacement of leaves raises the potential of placing the tree into stressful conditions. The best advice that can be given is just to provide a little extra TLC (mainly water) during the hot, dry days of summer. Unfortunately, for reasons other than frost, you stand a strong chance of eventually losing this tree. I know that our state foresters are advising people not to plant ash trees with much optimism. IronBelly