Okay, applenut is correct, never amend your soil. You just create a hole the tree will love to live in, and the roots will be less inclined to venture out. Instead, you should dig a hole about 2 to 3 times as wide as the root ball to loosen up your native soil. Plant the tree at the same height it was in, in the pot. Create a nice large well around the tree, with the perimeter of the well lower than the height of the trunk (so water will drain away from the trunk, and to the feeder roots which are at the edge of the canopy and a little beyond. What is known as the "drip line".) Mulch 2 to 4" deep with compost, then top with wood chips to help maintain moisture. If you're on clay soil, you're much better off building raised beds (a whole different topic). Wait to fertilize for a couple of months, until the feeder roots are established, then fertilize about every 2 months from Feb/March through Oct/Nov with a good citrus fertilizer that also contains micronutrients (Grow More Citrus & Avocado food is an excellent product). Don't worry about adjusting the pH. Not necessary here in S. California. NEVER allow overhead sprinklers to water your citrus trees as you currently are doing. They do not like their trunks wet, and this is a sure way to kill a young citrus tree, fast. Instead, use microsprinklers or 2 to 4 drips to fill the well (with young trees, they only need one or two drips, but lay 4 and turn them on as your tree grows, as well as move them out and away from the trunk to follow the canopy edge). Water well enough so that the soil is moist for about 12 to 18" deep. The philosophy of deep watering has been revamped for citrus. Citrus are shallow rooted trees, so if you're watering 2 to 3 feet down, you're just wasting water. The easy way to know - use a rod (I use one of those cheap green plastic covered metal plant stakes you can get at Home Depot/Lowes). If you can easily insert the stake 12 to 18" down, your soil is moist enough. You may also need to apply a micronutrient foliar application, soil drench or micronutrient granular application in the early spring/late winter, as our S. California soils tend to get depleted, and our colder winter rains can lock out the absorption of micronutrients, which will cause your leaves to look chloritic. It's usually not iron deficiency for most folks in S. Calif, but manganese deficiency. You can use Grow Power Citrus Grower's Blend, which is a water-soluble micronutrient product that can be sprayed on the leaves or poured into the soil. Here is a good resource for you to manage your citrus. I agree with applenut, your trees may be too wet. Check the soil and see. If so, turn off your sprinklers, then pull them out, and set microsprinklers or drips. Once established, a once a week watering is probably fine except during our very hot days in the summer, when you'll need to check and make sure your trees don't get too dry. They first symptom of being too dry will be cupped leaves. This is actually how commercial growers know to water their orchards. And, bookmark this site: http://homeorchard.ucdavis.edu/Fruits_&_Nuts/Citrus/ This is the UC Davis Backyard Orchard-Citrus page. Very helpful for us here in California. Lastly, you're probably better off posting this sort of question either on the Citrus Forum or on the California Gardening Forum. Patty S. Here is a link that might be useful: Four Winds Growers: How to Grow Citrus in the Ground

hey mary ... how about some relevant facts.. how big is your yard ... soil type... wind issues ... perhaps a picture ... you really havent given us much to work with here .... i love oaks.. they grow surprising fast ... and are extremely strong in the long run .. avoid all plants that claim to grow super fast ... give us anything else that will help us limit a discussion of the flora and fauna of utah ... ken

THANK YOU everyone for your all of your thoughtful insight. hcmcdole: I really like your idea of trying to grow them as a free form esapaillar. Or what if I just prune REALLY aggressively on the backside???... So here's what I'm thinking I'm going to do: I am going to prune REALLY aggressively on the backside of the plant to minimize it's growth and spread against the wall... Do you think this would work??? I don't mind how much if it wants to spread forward away from the wall or side ways in width. I would also like to minimize and maintain about a 5 foot height... That way it can overlap the bottom edge of my windows... And I can see the flowers even from the inside of the house. Is limelight the kind of hydrangea that will respond well to pruning and shaping during the growing season??? I know that I would probably make my life a whole lot easier if I just got the Little Lime variety... But it was nearly twice as much for a 2 gallon... Which isn't in my budget. What do you all think??? Am I going to be sorry years from now for even considering this idea and thinking I can keep Limelights growth maintained with pruning during the growing season??? I've never had much luck with hydrangeas in the past... So it's difficult for me to fathom a hydrangea that will grow 8 feet tall and grow so quickly.

Attaching photos of the area. Please excuse the mess and general ugliness. Obviously this area needs a lot of work. At the far corner is a small Japanese maple of some kind. I did not plant it and it was damaged by honeysuckle the previous owner planted. It's doing better this year and I thought I might try to keep it. The big stone pile in the center is a pond-less water feature that I haven't refilled and started up for the season yet. There are pavers that I intend to pull up and will hopefully put a small (properly installed) paver or flagstone patio near the water feature. Overall I hoped to create a small garden where I could sit next to the water feature and have some shade and privacy from the neighbors. I intended to start my plan with some trees and shrubs along the fence line and some low growing perennials as well. Photo 1: View of the entire area. The right side of the photo is East and I am facing North-East. (Dog demands to be the center of attention.) Photo 2: View facing directly North. The small stone between the large boulder and the pile of rocks is 7 feet from the fence and approximately where I hoped to plant 1 tree. Photo 3: View facing North-East. Hoping to plant tree 2 just to the left of the pinkish hued boulder in the foreground. While I have left the aspen directly against the fence, I don't think it's long for this world and it can be removed if needed once I'm able to get some new trees in place. Photo 4: Facing South from behind the water feature to show the other side of the area. Again, the pavers are coming out, as is the ugly stump that is drying out until I can cut it into smaller pieces so I can lift it into the waste bin. No attachment to the spikes half-dead plant either. I had hoped to plant a 3rd deciduous tree where the small closer round rock is on the right side of the photo. Sounds like a maple might be too large for that spot. Thank you again for your input.