Bobby, keep that wallet in your pocket and look around. I got one 5' tall at a hardware store that puts a nursery in front every year. Bought it later in the season and it was reduced from $70 to $35 and in a 3 gal. pot. Put it in, it bloomed the next spring then I had to move it to put in a new patio. It loves the new spot as the feet stay shaded most of the day and a little damp. Last year it put on 7' of growth and bloomed really well this spring. I love mine. The birds love to sit in it too, an added bonus. A home one block over has one in their side yard and it is about 20' tall. And my neighbors liked mine so much they put one in their yard. Hope you find a reasonable one. Tina

In Larry Hodgson's Making the Most of Shade he lists trees and shrubs that are generally considered gardener friendly. Here are a few in addition to some of the ones already mentioned. Red horse chestnut, Shagbark hickory, Fringetree, Yellowwood, Franklinia, Thornless honeylocust,Crabapples,Ironwood,Japanese tree lilac, Lacebark elm, as well as some shrubs and small trees,..Pagoda dogwood, Smokebush, European Elder,& Viburnum. All of the ones I've named are hardy to at least zone 4. Some may have other issues that you may want to check out. Also for a quick of shade some tall annuals, Love-lies-bleeding, sunflower, Nicotiana, or castor bean

Leaf spots alone are usually not enough to kill a healthy tree. Many people are apt to freak out when they find leaf spots and start covering their trees with fungicides and such. However, trees are used to dealing with leaf spots on their own and while they are unsightly to us, they normally don't do much damage to healthy trees. However, you did say that cats had scratched up the bark a bit? Perhaps something entered the tree through the wound and infected part of it. You say the branch is still flexible. However, is it still green on the inside of the leafless branches? From the photos I looked at, the leafless branches look as though they slowly dying back. Or is the brown I am seeing along the tips something else? My honest advice would be to trim the leafless branches back to a point where you find healthy green on the inside of them. If they are dying back, then there is nothing really left to do but trim. My cousin has a weeping willow tree and there always seem to be branches dying back.

Don't count on anything that you buy from a Lowes, HD, WalMart or even local nurseries to automatically do well in your zone. Check them out on the internet first. Businesses that sell plants are in business to make money. Even many nurseries will sell you plants that are not suited to the local climate. If they are responsible nurseries they will tell you that the plant you are buying will be an annual in your zone, meaning it's going to die come winter. Cheryl