Ah, the industrious squirrels! I've had oak seedlings and pecan seedlings -- very tenacious. After trying mechanical means and failing, I resorted to a more devious method that was quite successful. There is a product called Vinex, which I believe is a brand name for triclopyr. Don't be fooled by the name -- Vinex is a systemic herbicide that kills a lot more than vines. It comes with a little built-in applicator. All you have to do is paint a couple of inches of the stem (or is it already a trunk?), the closer to the ground the better. If you apply as directed, the only thing it kills is the offending seedling. It is a powerful herbicide that should only be used in very small doses. One giant caveat -- whatever you do, don't get it on anything else in the garden, including the ground itself. It would be the equivalent of giving a sniper a machine gun for a weapon. My local nursery carries it, but not all do. Good luck -- and wear gloves when you use it.

I am in Liberty, Mo. I doubt if was dug and suspect it was balled before movement from Ottawa, KS (50-60 miles). Arrived in a covered van, I loaded on my flatbed p/u, laid flat for the 2 mile trip planing location. Put in the ground immediately and had watered that night and two days later. Heavy rains since, so no watering. Leaves look exactly like they did when I picked them up from nursery. Have not called nursery. Thanks for the help.

Just to be accurate, pruning doesn't promote growth, in fact, the practice is a setback to growth and the lost potential can never be regained. Pruning temporarily alters the growth habit of the plant by interfering with the balance of growth regulators. Once the growth regulators regain their natural balance, the plant reverts to it's former growth habits. Now, just because I said that pruning sets back growth and the lost potential can't be regained doesn't mean I think pruning is bad. I mean, I DO think bad (inappropriate) pruning is bad, but appropriate pruning is good .... even when you're pruning roots. For the most part, I'm not interested in growing a plant unless it can be pruned or otherwise manipulated into a form that is both evocative and natural in appearance, so I'm a strong proponent of getting rid of what doesn't look good or pruning in order to produce a desirable outcome. If you want growth low on the trunks, you need to get the plant healthy and prune fairly hard while the plant is growing well - in summer. If you're interested, we can talk in more exact terms, but the generalities would go something like this: * Get the plant outdoors as soon as temps allow so you can get the plant started on the road back to good health. * Get and keep your watering under control until after you repot, when your soil should do 90% of the regulating - removing that burden from your shoulders. * Get started on a good nutritional supplementation program and stick to it. It will be VERY easy once you repot into an appropriate medium. * Don't prune until after you've repotted into an appropriate soil and the plant is pushing new growth. * Once you see new growth after repotting, prune back hard. * Force the tree to become full by constant pinching. Whenever a branch has 3 or 4 leaves on it, cut it back (pinch it) to 2 leaves. You'll get a new branch from the axil (crotch) of each leaf. When these new branches have 3-4 leaves, pinch back to 2 leaves again. No branch should ever have more than 4 leaves and no branches should have older leaves dropping off unless there is a branch in the leaf axil. If you start planning now (and you live in the Northern Hemisphere), you should be able to have your plant back on track by August. Al

Down here by the cities, it seems very localized the damage (frost pockets). What I have seen damage too is Smoketree, Red Oak, American linden, Korean/Japanese maples and their hybrids. Thats all that's obvious at moment. I think those coldest spots got 26-28 degrees Saturday morning and 28-30 degrees this morning. Shrub perennial damage seems more widespread in those same spots. The first couple of feet above the ground must have gotten quite cold. There are shrubs toasted around the base but fine on top.