howdy reed, i'm a little ways from austin. & i've only been doing this 3 years. but figs, jujube's, persimmons, asian pears, & european pears should thrive there with almost zero care. just be sure to get fireblight resistant pears, anything from womack nursery will work, just google them i dont have experience with peaches, plums, etc; but when i google "tamu peaches" texas a&m says they can be grown if i'm willing to follow a spraying routine, & if i'm not willing to spray not to bother. apples also need spraying, & your soil has to be free of cotton root rot, which many areas in the cotton south have if you use the search function at the top of the board & look for "mountainman" & "scraper" you'll read from some fig & pear experts in austin

Check out a nyssa sylvatica, (black gum), can't beat it for fall color, birds love the fruit. They also have a Red Rage variety.

If I remember reading correctly, rooms with little natural light require more saturated hues, otherwise the walls will look a dingy off-white. Is that correct? Would I be better off going a shade or two darker than I really want, in order for the color to register? That's correct. A dimly lit room will always be a dimly lit room. Painting a pastel, light color won't change that fact. The pastel, light color will more than likely look dingy in that quality of light. Rooms that get limited amounts and quality of natural light are the worse candidates for any flavor of white paint color The key to choosing any paint color is to partner nuance with inherent light. Nuance of a color means - at the same time - considering the light/dark property of the color AND how vivid/dulled it appears in the room. It is generally best to err on the side of more saturated than grayed or toned paint colors for dimly lit rooms. Because in order to see color you have to have light - can't have one without the other. So if the quality of light is a litle short, not very robust and full, you need to partner that light with a paint color that is robust and full in some way -- like one that is more saturated or maybe one that is mixed full specrum. Doesn't necesarily mean it has to be darker - if you nail partnering the right nuance with the inherent light, you can use whatever value (value is light/dark) you want. Once you get much past a mid-tone, however, then it becomes a different color strategy. Because at that point of choosing to use darker colors, you're playing into the dim quality of light and pairing it with a similarly low-key quality paint color -- instead of coloring against the dimness, you're going with it.

always plant in dormancy.. when leafless ... then they wont fall off.. due to transplant stress ... yes.. it can be done other times.. but thats just more stress ... for the tree.. and you .. lol ... i would also bare root and plant in native soil.. see link .. make sure the root flare is at soil level ... finally.. i would remove the two lowest branchlets .... the next one up in 2 or 3 years .... ken https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub