Thanks for your information and links. Studies from MSU recommended M.7 for free-standing trees on my coarse, sandy soil. I've planted them about 12' apart and expect to do a lot of summer pruning to keep them around 10'. Cultivars: Ashmead's Kernel, Pomme Gris, Pitmaston Pineapple, Rhode Island Greening, and Northern Spy. The espalier trees are 8' apart, with 3 wires spaced to 6' off the ground. All are comspurs on M.26: Red Rome, Stayman Winesap, and Black Twig. I also have a pear espalier with the same layout. Summer 2007 was their second season (3 year old trees); and I had a few blossoms. I had cut them back hard in the first year to encourage low branching. This was good for the espalier, but the free-standing trees didn't all shape up as well. I think that I'll ease up on this technique this time around. In selecting rootstock, tree longevity is one of my major concerns, so I steered away from the most dwarfing types. Geneva 16 and 30 are currently being tested in Michigan, and will probably do well, but they are also harder to come by this late in the season. I will probably try them at some point in the future. I also found a Hudson's Golden Gem on M.111 -- I know this one will get much bigger, so it's going to a different spot in the garden. I love the flavor of heirloom varieties, and the best pie in the world, according to my husband, is from a combo of N. Spy, Red Rome, and Winesap. Anticipation and hope are 9/10 of gardening. Do you have any photos to post? I've had easy to grow cherry trees for a decade, but this is my first foray into other fruit trees, so I truly value the experience of other gardeners. Thanks again, Juliana

Marian, I read your post yesterday and didn't have time to give it the proper attention it deserved. It was the same story this morning. I have bid my evening fitting farewell and now it's time for me to "warm my chair". I have thought about this for 3 days now, which is probably a good thing, given the nature of the topic. ;) I know well how desperate one can become when life gets rough, your skies darken, and walls begin to close in. I understand how it feels to have ones wings "clipped" by circumstances and the longing that follows when the hard, reality of what your life has become looms in front of you. I faced all of that during the time Mum was with me. I did what I knew was the proper thing to do, but couldn't help feeling trapped and overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of responsibility and the necessity of seeing all that I'd previously loved and enjoyed "put on a shelf" while the days went by with dreadful monotony. It foments resentment, anger, and hurt... the ingredients of a lethal cocktail that can destroy you from the inside out. Boy! do I ever understand... . There was a long time when I couldn't face the Idylls because it was simply too painful to be daily reminded of all I'd had to put aside for the sake of expediency. It was necessary to simply lower my head and pull into the yoke. I was damned lousy company! So, I know in my own small way, how low you probably felt on that fateful day. Would that I was able to control my temper, too! ;) You aren't the only one to struggle with that one, Marian (one more thing we have in common?). So here is MY apology to you: Marian, I am honestly sorry that I was less than comforting and brutally "to the point". It was a selfish indulgence. I know I hurt your feelings and I regret that very much. I have always liked your "down home", practical way of observing things and sharing the sorts of things that I would note if I lived where you do. I've missed it a great deal. I know you are not a thoughtless, cruel person and you certainly know the same thing about me. Friends?

I don't know how much help I'll be, but I did want to send my condolensces - I live in the Lafayette area, and we just had all of that flooding along the rivers in January. It's still a mess, and some people are just now starting to rebuild. As I watched the images of your area on the news that weekend, all I could think was "Oh, no, not again!" And then there's Iowa & the Mississippi river. . . One thing I learned in January as I helped with flood clean-up was that flood water is extremely nasty. It just looks like really dirty water, but it has raw sewage, oil, & all kinds of chemicals in it. Even if it was runoff flooding (instead of rising up from a body of water), it is full of chemicals, silt, organic material, etc. We had to get Tetanus shots just to help with clean-up because of the water. If the flood waters that entered your pond came through a farm field, or even the neighbor's lawn, it has whatever chemicals everyone had put on their lawns, in the fields, on their plants, etc. in it. If it was high enough to go through someone's car, barn, house, or garage before reaching your pond, who knows what kind of nastiness got in it (just think of all of the stuff stored in a typical garage). As daunting as it sounds, if I were in your position I think I would drain the pond completely and start over. This will allow you to get rid of the unwanted 'wild' fish, and will eliminate a lot of the 'unknowns'. We KNOW what happens if we fill a pond with clean fresh water - ('looks good' to 'pea soup' to 'must have patience' to 'nice clear water & balanced pond') and it is predictable that in a few weeks after the clean out, your pond should be back to normal. Otherwise, everything is a mystery; What is in the water? Is it affecting the fish? Can I filter it out? It could take months to get it balanced again, and you'd be problem-solving the whole time. While I'm sure draining and cleaning a 12000 gallon pond is not fun, it might be better and easier in the long run. However, someone with more experience than myself might have an easier solution. Just thought I'd throw in my two cents, and let you know we're thinking of our neighbors to the south! Jill

Edna, I am glad the Forbid took care of these nasty critters. I have heard that it is one of the best products for the Broad and Cyclamen Mites. And it being systemic is a real plus. I do recall the label saying that it should not be used more that three times in a growing season to keep the mites from becoming resistant. Neonposey, thanks for your concern. I hope that you never have to deal with these critters. They not only can infect your brugs but other plants such as these: Pepper Impatiens Begonias Iochroma Plumeria Hibiscus Strawberry Fuschia just to name a few. And the sad thing about Avid and Forbid is, you cannot use them on food crops. So when it comes to fighting these critters on food crops you are constrained to using horticiltutal oil or some other product that is safe to put on your veggies. However, they are just not as effective as the Avid and Forbid.