It is sad that he is not able to work his yard anymore and unfortunate that there is no one to help him. As you've seen, you will get new ones from his bushes regardless of what you do. But I think it is the right thing to remove all the seedlings that you find. That plant doesn't need to spread any more than it has already. My neighbor has them too and when they are in fruit, I walk down the street plucking off as many as I can reach, stuffing them into my pockets. Then I go home and dump them in the trash can! Thank you for removing them.

Winterberry will grow here - zone 7 - and fruits well. I would imagine it would do even better in zone 5, but will bow to the experience of someone from that area. Just remember you will need both male and female plants to get any berries. One male will do for every 5-6 female plants, as I recall. Have you given thought also to the shrubby, fruiting plants - blueberries, high bush cranberries, raspberries (although they will probably come in as you stop mowing), native roses,spice bush, etc. as well as trees such as wild cherries, other conifers for pine cones, native plums, etc.? As well, any wild flowers, other than the Rudbeckia, native to your area would be good, although putting in plants rather than sowing seed would probably give a better success rate. If your county or state has a Forestry Department, can you get young trees from them? Usually, they have bare root trees for sale, which are fairly small, but also VERY inexpensive. I know here, for a slightly higher price, you can get trees already in "cases", round sections of "pipe", which will protect from deer and rabbits for a few years, and also provide a sheltered environment from wind, etc.. Studies have been done which show trees with "shelters/cases" grow much faster, have a greater survival rate, and are generally healthier than trees planted "naked". The cases that I know of were a slightly startling blue color, but the trees seem to have done quite well. (Since they were visible from the road in several places, rumors of "pod people" in the woods spread around the community!) I don't know if someone would have to go in after several years and remove the shelters or if there are now biodegradable ones that break down after several years' exposure. The last would be the best, if it exists, which I THINK it does, but I also think it may be the blue ones. I congratulate you on being willing to give up a tree that you wanted, and substitue a "better" one - many people would not have been able to do so. Good luck with your project and with your surgery!

Thank you very much for all of the helpful replies. I guess I will wait till fall and see how things go, and be prepared to replace them if they don't survive another summer. First of all, here are a couple of photos of the trunk of the one in the yard (the worst one). You can see where I recently dug out the excess soil piled around the tree and attempted to get it at the level it probably should have been at when they planted the trees. Dwrecktor, it sounds like your experience was very close to mine. Do the pictures above look like your trees did? How long was it between the time your trees were planted and when you removed the excess soil? Mine will have been in the ground for 3 years in September. I sure wish I had known to do that right away. Arktrees, great suggestion on the perc test - I will do that. I do know that the soil is heavy red clay and there isn't much topsoil since they took that away when they built the homes. As a rule, our soil tends to be slightly alkaline from what I've heard. It gets very hot and dry here in the summers. Any suggestions as to what might be a good replacement tree? Since my house faces south, a shade tree is a priority. Other considerations are something that will be less likely to blow over or lose big limbs in our storms, won't overwhelm my small lot, and if it produces something edible (like pecans or fruit) that would always be a plus. Drought and heat tolerance would be pretty high on the list and it would be in full sun pretty much all day on that side of the house. Of course I don't want anything that will mess with the driveway/sidewalk/foundation or plumbing, though maybe that last one isn't a big deal with new construction. I welcome any and all suggestions. My personal favorites are maples and birches and blue spruce, but that's probably the Canadian in me :) I'm guessing none of those would do well down here? I'm guessing the burr oak comment was a joke? What is a chinquapin? Are there any small pecan cultivars that would make a good yard tree, or are they all huge? Also, I was reading about Caddo maples that are native to SW Oklahoma - has anyone had any experience with them? Thanks again everyone for all the helpful replies and for not making me feel more like a total idiot than I already do lol

"in this whole field of native vrs. plants that are not native, we need more common sense and less ideology." The issue of invasive plants is not based on ideology, but on science. The USDA and state agencies publish lists of prohibited plants and noxious weeds based upon scientific observation of these plants. This is not a crusade against all non-native plants, just those that cause tremendous damage to native habitats, as well as threaten human activities like agriculture or recreation. Some native plant enthusiasts take the issue to the level of ideology - and will not grow anything other than plants that were native to their region prior to European settlement. IMO this is an interesting exercise, but unnecessary - the unspoiled paradise that existed here before the Europeans arrived is LONG gone and our concrete, chemical lawns, and plastic garbage are the furthest thing from the biodiverse natural habitat that once existed in North America. Even if humans were wiped off the continent, it would be millenia before this paradise were restored. I am a native plant enthusiast who grows plenty of non-invasive, non-native plants in the gardens. I grow lots of annuals, most of which are native to tropical climates - they are beautiful and have high wildlife value. I have peonies, Irises, Lilacs, etc. These plants aren't going to start taking over the countryside! However, Autumn Olive and Russian Olive ARE taking over the countryside and displacing native plant species and as a result biodiversity suffers. That is a fact, not an opinion or ideology. I would be very excited 1) just to have a house on Nantucket and 2) research and grow the plants that are native to such an interesting, specialized island habitat!