Update: Visited a nearby nursery. Lots of mud to walk through. They're open, but still waiting for some trees to come in. As a reminder, this is my situation: [IMG]http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q181/adrianmonk_2007/P2140082.jpg[/IMG] On a cloudy day in the winter, the issue isn't obvious, but I have a real need to shade the house. The house faces south and really gets hit by the summer sun. In addition, there's a need for "screening". I want to look out of the window and see a tree, not the house way up the road. Anyway, the guy at the nursery chatted with me for quite awhile and showed my some of his stuff. I mentioned that I might want to replace the dogwood on the left sector (hardly visible in the pic) in order to shade the house. I also needed a "specimen" in the center. He had plenty of white barked himalayan birches that he suggested for the left sector. This is somewhat shaded in the late afternoon by the street tree, but he thought it would be alright. I brought up the heritage river birch, and he said they'll be getting some in next week. I know the himalayan birch trees are susceptible to disease, but they are nice looking trees. He also showed my a well-shaped October Glory Red Maple (suggested for the center), along with a Forest Pansy Redbud. He doesn't carry Paperbark Maples or Hornbeams which I had brought up. He mentioned purple leafed plums as a small tree. Why is it everyone hates purple leafed plums? :) The idea of a birch on the left sector appeals to me, although I worry about the "full sun" requirement. The street tree over on the left will shade it starting in the late afternoon. Also, there's the issue of whether to risk getting a Himalayan birch for that nice white bark. The October Glory seemed nice. I asked if it would work in the left sector, and he seemed to think the center sector would be better for it, so it wouldn't collide with the street tree. Well, I'll probably check out other places as well. Is the Himalayan Birch really a bad idea? Anyway, it was good to see the trees in real life instead of the Internet :)

calliope, I have a dozen dwarf mugo pines, and use this on the pine sawfly larvae: a 50-50 mix of isopropyl alcohol and water, with a bit of dishwashing detergent as a wetting agent. It kills them immediately. Maybe you'd find it less objectionable than the chemicals you're using. Last year they managed to eat fully half the needles on the northernmost of my mugos (which is consistently the favorite target), and this was the first spring I saw a few branches whose new needles didn't grow in. [And a heart-felt Thank you! to whichever old GWebber posted that formula 8 or 10 years ago. The same formula seems to work on mealy bugs.]

I also like serviceberry alot. It has a nice outline and 4 good seasons. It's also probably the longest lived and most upright of the three. The only thing I have against it is that is never is EXCEPTIONAL in any one season. Other trees have showier flowers, fruit, bark, leaves, structure and fall color. Pagoda dogwood wants to be branched to the ground, so you can't really garden below it and it can occasionally get a canker that kills whole stems. Very beautiful but maybe for a larger setting. Redbud is fussy for me in Western WI but really interesting. I would consider a crabapple with persistant fruit like Sugartyme. Or for something funkier, a paperbark maple. Ted

I would like to put in a word for redbud. Here in my SE michigan property redbuds produce a lot of seedlings, but the seedlings are slow growing, dainty, and easily pulled or mowed, unlike maple seedlings which can become monsters if you dont act quickly. I have many redbud offspring that I simply watch, as they are attractive understory plants for a long time. I dont trim my redbuds anymore. Without trimming, they develop arching sprays that often touch the ground. Branches have umbrella like habit, but there aren't many branches, so the largest trees have many open segments up the trunk, unlike the dense maples Animals don't eat the pods, birds don't nest in my redbuds - too open, but rabbits and squirrels eat the bark in winter. I have caught squirrel using both hands to yank wrappings off the trunk. One bad winter they girdled a big redbud almost killing it. I just removed the wrapper off the trunk this summer to find the tree was re-forming trunk over the chewed area. Although I have planted serviceberry, I think the redbud has it all over in looks. Since they grow slow, and die young, keeping the offspring around makes sense