Jeff: As I understand what you did, you initially planted the tree with the graft union buried beneath the soil, then lately dug the whole thing up and reset the tree highter, with the graft union a couple of inches above the soil line. This is to tell you that burying the graft union probably had no negative effect, by itself, on the health of the rootstock or the scion above it. If anything, a buried scion is prone to root itself. I think your rootstock is suffering from nematodes or some disease endemic to your area which keeps your tree just hanging on by its fingernails, so to speak. Even if the tree you planted is on some exotic dwarfing rootstock, your tree bears no resemblance to a healthy peach tree that has been growing for 13 years. It may have a few blossom buds, but I don't see any future for it, and any fruit that such a sick tree would set would be of poor quality. Perhaps the tree has been suffering from some neglect, lack of water, mulch, grass growing around it etc., but the major problem is a very sick rootstock. It wouldn't be a hard decision for me. I would take that tree out pronto, and plant a new one in a different location this spring. It may be wrenching to pull out a tree you planted when you were 10, but don't wait until you are 33. Nostalgia is not what it used to be. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Doan's nursery in Belt line road in Irving has many cocktail fruit trees. I would suggest to check this nursery for fruit trees, flowering plants and tropical plants. Be prepared to wait to get help and also make sure that you are getting the right plants because many of the plants don't have labels/pricing. I also noticed that many fruit trees are from California growers, so not sure how they would grow in DFW. Moreover, they do not give any kind of warranty to the trees.

Now that it's getting colder, mice will look for anything they can eat, including tree roots and bark. I lost a 20 year old grape vine a few years ago when they ate all the roots off just at the soil level during a prolonged cold snap. Killed the grape vine just as if I had taken an axe to shear it off at its trunk base.

Joshua, I'd like to answer your question directly: yes, trees can die suddenly. They can also die very soon after being planted too deeply. I'd have to say that it is the number one reason for decline and death in trees, at least in my career. Some years ago, I was called out to the large property of a high end retail complex, not a mall. The tree and landscaping installations were extensive, even extraordinary. I was called by the CEO to inspect the site about two months after completion of the job. The majority of the large trees were in serious trouble....after two months! The plants had all been planted anywhere from 6 to 8 inches below grade into a soil that stayed too mucky, too wet....especially at that depth. Tree roots must have oxygen at that shallow root zone...or they can die. Most of us know that the essential absorbing roots of trees are shallow. Planting too deeply impedes the development of new roots. So, the decline process can begin immediately and end swiftly......or a tree can languish for years before finally croaking. Trees that have been installed that deeply have been planted improperly, plain and simple.