I don't know what kind of fruit trees you're growing. I want a free standing 12-14' tall fruit tree at maturity. If you want to grow dwarfs, I already stated that you might as well start with a whip. If you can't straighten out an apple or pear tree that's been mistrained I have no idea how you will be able to train any tree- it's just not all that complicated- you remove the excess scaffold branches back to the trunk either gradually or immediately. If remaining scaffolds are excessively lanky you may have to head them back and retrain out. If you are getting a substantial root system with the tree this will all take substantially less time than starting with a whip. When I've confronted trees like this I have them in pretty good shape the first season and they bear fruit just as soon as if they'd been properly trained- just not as much. By the third season the tree will look pretty much as though I trained it from the beginning. Once a pome has a substantial rootsystem and a decent trunk you are on your way.

Interesting running commentary here. Eric: you've got an exciting project ahead of you. Let's hope your kids inherit your passion for land stewardship. lkz5ia: your posted history of investigating vigorous non-native species may cause these sentences to blow off with the prairie winds, but maybe you could consider them "invasive comments" and try sowing them as a simple experiment >%-D Resolving the issue of an undesirable gully situation is likely going to take much more than planting bamboo species, vigorous or not, native or not. You may have already researched stream dynamics; if so, then this will be a limited primer for those who haven't yet. Above, it was mentioned that these images represent a former wetland. Due to past land use practices (assuming Iowa, assuming field agriculture, assuming grazing/cattle, assuming tiling/drainage "improvements", assuming land division irrespective of natural systems) there may not be any chance to recreate that condition. Neighbors upstream are your biggest allies in your endeavor, or maybe your worst enemies. Slow down the water flow, if you want to stabilize and improve the gullying situation. As far as I know, Iowa has relatively low gradients when it comes to topography. It also has few canyons. To get gullies like you are showing here, with rapid advancement upstream, you have an increased flow situation combined with lack of normal vegetation for the site (that formerly held soils in place). Normal vegetation for Iowa includes quite a few woody riparian species (you've mentioned many in your posts, with vigorous root systems ideally evolved to hold soils together in this kind of situation) as well as many herbaceous species (prairie style) with very deep root systems. I think this is where the gap occurs. Bamboo plants (in my limited use experience) aren't necessarily known for depth of rooting, more so for vigorous spreading in horizontal directions. In an erosive condition as you've illustrated, soils will likely wash away underneath and the support systems fail. Deeper rooted species, adapted to YOUR site, combined with some structural (engineered) stabilization offer a better scenario. Yes, this can be a costly solution, but isn't always. Usually, some "toe-of-slope" stabilizer must be installed to hold the base of the bank in place while the organic (plant matter) component is getting growing and extending roots throughout the soil profile that you want to hold together. This can be stone, logs, stumps, brush, or other things; one must understand the dynamics enough to know what sort of application to make. Filling behind the stabilizer and planting (sometimes with a stabilization or erosion control fabric, natural material or inorganic) comes next. Here's where you have the opportunity to be frugal. Species you've mentioned (willow, cottonwood, sycamore, etc.) are all great to use as LIVE STAKES, meaning you cut live branches/parts in the dormant season and simply drive them into the ground. Doubles as staking for erosion control fabrics, too. This is a way to "forest" a creek bank without prohibitive costs, and stay ahead of the hoofed and webbed-foot browsers. Apply the technique mentioned by Chester_Grant in the Trees forum to keep out deer (creating a raised grid of fallen timber, maybe some of the excess Ailanthus you are raising, or Pyrus) to extend the establishment time of the live stakes. There are many other species that work in this regard, especially shrubby species that are copious fruiters, so that you'll be supporting several system restoration components simultaneously (hydrology, soil stabilization, and faunal habitat). Concurrent with the attempt to stem the advance of the gully, slowing water down upstream through several efforts will pay dividends in the stabilization and enhancement of the system and habitant. Using the same type of riparian species (live staked or whole plants) in the watershed above the gully will slow down water flow, and trap sediments. Additionally, placement of weir structures (soil berming, stone, logs, stumps, brush, etc.; I've used newspaper bales) to "dam" the flow periodically will reduce the rate of runoff and reduce the rate of erosion in the gullying area. Yes, this will raise the temporary water table or surface impoundment, and that's where I was going with the "neighbors upstream" comment. If this is unfavorable to their land management practices or concerns, then you may not be able to implement this range of alternatives. Drop-down pipes solve short-term issues on site, and pass them on rapidly downstream to whomever's property comes next. You don't say how large/small a property you manage, or how big the watershed is that feeds it hydrology, but the management principles apply anyway. Slowing the water down higher up in the system pays dividends throughout, so working on the smaller "ditches" first that feed the larger stream maybe be the best approach. Whew! Probably lost some readers in that slow-moving train of thoughts. FWIW. Good luck in the project; we will all learn something from the efforts related here.

Thanks for your thoughts...it just goes to show there are lots of ways to do this kitchen. I do really like that tile with Organic White but too cold overall for me...and I don't love it with the fabric but my designer does. She fired me today. She is frustrated because she is "not getting to design". I chose not to bring up the fact that since day one I have been saying I want a white kitchen and ever since that she has been trying to talk me out of it. She also hates my farm table - says it's "been done". She wants me to do an industrial table - (IMHO, also "been done" ) and I did flirt with the whole marble/industrial look but in the end, not for me. Ooops, wrong person to guide me. So the moral of this story seems to be..."To Thyself be True"...but don't do it with Buttermilk Ceasarstone. I think everyone is right - it will look dirty with the white - I am now thinking Organic White or Blizzard -the two whites I loved from the beginning. I am going to find a tile that I can get quickly. Yes, forgive my former designer, a white tile. Then, after a few less painless decisions, (hardware, stools...), before I get my kitchen back, I will get my life back. Can't wait!

I've cut plants way back down by the street and they recover very fast so those will probably be fine. I especially like those annual gaillardia along with Desert Marigold, Blackfoot Daisy, Flame Flower, Helianthus annum because these plants are in for the long haul and bloom from spring, through summer heat and into fall without stopping. Its the into summer heat part that makes them especially good. If someone wanted to plant a meadow or prairie garden in the city without creating a mess like people talk about with prairie gardens, I can't see how they would with these growing along with the classic prairie grasses. These are all low growing and well behaved. That little Kansas Four O'clock blooms all summer into fall too. Did your seeds take hold? I've got them coming up here and there all over my property (exploding pods). Its OK since they are only about 3" tall. Plains Penstemon blooms all summer too. I've got two that volunteered last year but they are still small. Lobeleaf copper mallow is another long bloomer, spring to fall. Its tall but I can't imagine anyone calling it thuggish or overwhelming and its no flopper. Lots of stiff stems covered in blue foliage & orange blooms currently. For some reason some stems break at the base especially in spring. Maybe the wind that snaps them? I have 3 seedlings and am hoping to get another red blooming one. The only thing is, the plant takes up a big space which I am always short of but I did plant one down on the H. Strip. I let one Mentzelia decapetata come up last year. Same exact spot as last time. Its growing a tall center stem now and should be blooming in a month or so. Did yours make it? I finally figured out I've got a Pink Yucca that is a different kind than H. 'parviflora'. I I.D.ed as H. campanulata the other night. Its larger in every respect, has a bloom stalk that's practically as tall as me with flowers that are more yellow but not like the yellow blooming Hesperaloe. I got the seeds from a huge cluster growing at Will Rogers Park some years back. I think I sent you some but can't remember. The night blooming type hasn't bloomed for me yet but it did defy the zone limit. I think its hardier than they say. *CORRECTION: That H. campanulata bloom stalk is 8 feet tall, I just measured it. The leaves are almost double the height of H. parviflora. I saw the first hummingbird of the season on it yesterday.