Most important thing is not to do anything that your gut tells you not to do. #4 is completely out. What's more work? Rebuilding a retaining wall or replanting a fig tree and waiting a few years. For me, you want strong afternoon sun. As to the wind, keep it low and grow like a bush. This way you can trim it down at the end of fall to 3 ft and then throw leaves or insulation on it. You then close it up with plywood like a box. I plan on doing this when my trees get bigger and I plant them inground from pots. Between the insulation and geo-thermal heat, your tree should be fine. I have the same problem as you do in terms of location. I lose my whole front yard to a septic and leachfield. Almost a 1/3 acre so I plant all my lilacs and fruit trees along the perimeter. Full sun and open to wind. No problems the last year. Only damage was this year was from heaviness of snow. Plywood protects all that.

Sounds interesting but other factors do effect the readings - time of day for instance. For the cost of a roll of film and processing I took a day and from my upstairs bedroom window took photos every hour from sunup to sunset, in early June and again in August as the arc of the sun does change. I then made a sketch of my yard and location of planting beds and was able to calculate hours of sunlight on each section. Some areas got only midday light, others only early am or pm and actual amount of light was considerably less than I thought. But anything that helps pick plants appropriately is very appreciated!

Where are you newgen, Eureka? Temps like those in Cali would only exist there I think. I wouldn't think a majesty had any chance in Eureka and probably most of northern Cali, but I could be wrong. If you're on the SF peninsula, you might have a chance, but that it is one heck of a specialized microclimate I believe you're probably living in. I used to live in Walnut Creek, granted before I got into palms, but I don't know that majesties would do well in the East Bay either. I don't recall seeing any. On the PalmTalk forum, there are several guys from NoCal that are on that forum and could probably help you more. There is also a board for Palms in the Northwest which may be linked here or maybe the hardy palm and subtropical board.

Generally cherry trees do better with more sun. But if you are right on the borderline in terms of getting the required amount of chill hours, shade during the wintertime can be enough to tip the scale in the right direction. The best place for plants that need full sun but also need to avoid excessive heat in warm climate is against a fence on the south side so it will get morning sun when the temperature is still cool. (at least in the northern hemisphere) Considering that you are in Texas, avoiding excessive heat and drying out is probably a bigger issue than getting enough sun. If I can make a suggestion, perhaps put the tree in a large planter so it can get plenty of sun in its first year, then plant it in a shadier spot once it has become a little more established. (this will also allow you to move it around into the shade during the hot summer) Be sure to provide adequate irrigation so it does not dry out in the hot dry weather, but also be sure the soil does not stay perpetually damp either- this is not good for cherry tree roots. Many plants can deal with high temperatures, as long as they get plenty of continual water for evaporative cooling and to avoid drying out, but I do not think cherry trees could deal with this type of excessive watering, and you do not want to be watering your trees every day, in any case. Finding the right balance of sun and avoiding excessive heat can be difficult. Better to err on the side of avoiding excessive heat. Your cherry may not thrive as well in Texas as it might in some other climates. What many people may not realize is just because it is a generally hot climate does not mean it cannot also get very cold at times.