Steve, Fedco recommends the painting of tree trunks with latex/joint compound. " After years of experimentation, I think that painting is the best deterrent. I�ve tried a number of recipes and this is my favorite. It�s easy and requires no hard-to-find ingredients. Mix white interior latex paint with joint compound. (The stuff you smear on sheet rock joints and nail holes�you can buy a small tub at any hardware store. Some exterior paint formulations contain ingredients that can harm the underlying phloem.) The consistency should be thick but still quite easy to paint, not glob on. Repaint periodically or each year as needed. This mix will help deter borers. It will also make for easy detection of any infestation you may have. Look for the frass! Using the paint method, you will also need to put some sort of screen or plastic rodent protector around the trunk during the winter months. We are experimenting with a borer-protection formula using more benign ingredients. It doesn�t last or adhere as well as the paint-joint compound mixture, but it appears to work fairly well. 2 qt quick lime 4 gal milk 1 gal boiled linseed oil Mix well. Thicken as needed with clay or Surround (available in the Organic Growers Supply section of the Fedco Seeds catalog). Ap" I applied an approx 20% mix but it may have been too much because a lot of it washed away. I reduced it to 10% with better adhesion. Flat indoor latex. Some think I'm nuts for putting a shot of sulfur/lime for "good measure". Some question the logic to this practice, but Fedco is playing around too. I like the idea of having the aphids' ant-servants have to traipse their way through the chemical wasteland! Noogy

If you are just putting down a mulch, then just keeping it from touching woody stems and barks is OK - a couple of inches away is sufficient. Rodents bothering trees or shrubs is not a huge concern in the OP's area.....unless you are talking about mountain beavers and nothing short of a wire cage surrounding the plant, including roots, will keep them away. The intent is to keep a moisture holding material - like most mulches - away from the woody portions, as it can contribute to rot and bark damage. It won't 'leach' nutrients out of the tree. If you are spreading compost to provide a nutrient source, then yes, you do want to extend that covering out to the dripline, at least. That's where the bulk of the feeder root are located so that's where it will provide the greatest benefit. FWIW, very few tree species develop tap roots and even many of those that do, do so only when very young. The tap root disappears with maturity. Most tree roots are contained within the top 15-18 inches of the soil and many are located just below the soil surface. Neither compost or any other mulch should be applied too deeply - 2-3 inches is sufficient. And somewhat less for very shallow rooted shrubs like rhodies and azaleas. Too thick a mulch layer can smother the fine roots located at the soil surface, depriving them of oxygen.

I have no clue but that's a great question. I think many have left early for the Memorial Day weekend...it's so quiet on the forums. Sue

I would just pant a climbing rose which grows in partial sun (get LOCAL advice from your rose society or others nearby re which roses would work in your area/climate) in the sunniest spot you can find near 2-3 ft away) the tree stump. Then, put a string or small rope from the rose to the tree stump. As the rose grows and gains height, tie it to the string or rope, and repeat, until it is touching the stump (they have proven that climbing roses will react to actually touching a support by climbing up it). Then, every time it puts out longer canes/growth, tie them higher up on the stump, and continue with further growth. Then it depends on what is surrounding your stump. If there are taller trees nearby, and you have chosen a tall climber, don't be surprised if the rose jumps over to a nearby tree and continues up it, until it reaches the canopy. If there are no trees (or buildings) within reach of a rose leaping from the top of the stump, you might want to use a shorter climber, or wrap it around the stump, as starchild did. I have sent several roses up trees this way - most of them eventually have reached the canopy way at the top of the tree (20-30 feet, or in one case it jumped over to a neighbor's tall pine tree and continued up. Climbing roses on trees DO NOT need to be tied up the whole way to climb - they evolved to climb up trees without human help - you just need to get them started. Or, another idea - we have a HUGE (about 5 ft in diameter, and 7 ft high) scarlet oak stump in our front garden, surrounded by nothing but bushes, and the fence between it and the neighbor's driveway. Great view of the neighbor's house, unfortunately. We got a MOON GATE shaped trellis thingy, and my DH built a raised bed around the stump, and put the trellis over the tree stump, and grew a rambling rose on it. Here are the before and after pictures (WHAT neighbor's house?): Jackie