Melikeeatplants, I blame it on this "winter's" unseasonably warm weather. I had one in ground all winter, it lost about a foot off the top but shoots are popping off the sides now, it is about 2' tall. Another which I have had for 2 winters was brought indoors during the cold months and put back outside during the hotter months, this plant is about 6' tall. I decided this year I would plant them in the sunniest part of the yard and leave them be and so far they seem to be doing okay. Otherwise, I didn't do much of anything. The one note I can make about the smaller papaya is that it had grown right up against the south side of our home, so it was sheltered from wind by our large azalea, and as our home is brick, I suppose it leached some heat off of it as well. I honestly was stumped it made it through the winter at all as we did have some pretty cold nights below freezing in a row. That plant took it like a champ! In case either die, I still have about 6 more to replace them. ;) John, I don't have any flower beds aside from these monster azalea bushes surrounding our home. I should have also noted it's not just my dog, but the neighbor's dog who I let share my yard too. And being that his dog is a rather large intact lab, he puts off a very unpleasant smell. So I prefer to get rid of the poop in some way (bury it) than leave it to ferment in the hot sun and waft into our house. I tend to think of my dog only, but his dog too leaves his mess which I agreed to clean up (at the time I didn't think the difference would be so..extreme. This dog drops mountains!). I don't allow any dog poop near my vegetables, the bushes and trees are far enough from the garden that it isn't a worry for me. Thanks! Kraken

Thanks all! We're in the SF Bay Area (Oakland, so not in the fog belt---pretty mild/moderate). We do have very heavy clay soil and have been amending it where we've planted new trees to try to mitigate drainage issues after losing two avocado seedlings to root rot. As far as the second cherry, if this is bacterial canker, is it likely to spread to other fruit trees? We have aging apples, persimmons, and figs (one fig is ill with something too, but our local nursery noted that it may just be at the end of its life). We also have younger plums, avocado, and citrus. All are in close proximity (entire yard is maybe 1200 square feet?). It's obviously a little late for dormant spraying in our area, but is there anything I should be using in the spring/summer season to prevent the spread of the canker, if it can spread to other nearby trees? It does seem to have been eating away at the cherries for some years now, as the previous owner had taken off large chunks of both trees. Also, we would like to replace the cherry (though maybe in another part of the yard, it sounds like!) I've seen cherries on both Gisela5 and Mazzard rootstock. (Am guessing the current trees are on Mazzard or something similar as they're huge.) Is one more resilient than the other, or should I just choose based on size/fruiting? Thanks!

I don't think it represents any real danger to you unless you are prone to psychosomatic ailments. The tiny amounts of herbicide that might somehow find their way into your fruit is nothing compared to your everyday sources of such chemicals, which includes the plastics used in holding and storing food (including plastic bags) air pollution and all the volatile chemicals such as wood preservatives in homes and other shelters, plastics in cars, padding in furniture (which provide bursts of such chemicals every time you sit down) and so forth. There is no practical way to avoid this onslaught since you breathe the chemicals in with every breath you take, especially when indoors. Fortunately it doesn't seem to be killing us off at an adequate rate to reduce the human assault on our planet. We keep living longer even if our manner of death may be altered slightly (statistically as a group). There is no apparent canary in the coal mine. Too bad your neighbor can't learn to love dandelions. Perfect lawns are a silly pursuit in my book. Mowed grass doesn't provide much nourishment- at least dandelions feed the bees.

I think that the roots, if the trees are well cared for, won't be too much problem. Keeping the area on your side of the fence watered will encourage roots to grow in the soil and not up along the surface or under the garage slab searching out moisture. Check out past posts on watering for more details, but in short, you want the water to be down in the soil, 4-12" down, not in the top 2-4", to encourage the roots to stay there. Mulching the area on your side will help keep the ground moist. If you want lawn there instead, then be careful what chemicals and fertilizers you put on it - some (many of those intended for lawns) can have ill effects on trees in general, esp. on fruit trees - and still keep an eye on the watering. If you weren't already aware, know that tree roots spread as widely, or wider, as the tree is tall, so the ends of the roots will go well out from the fence as the trees grow. As Calliope said, your main problem will probably be with fruit drops, esp. from the plum, and the insects, esp. wasps, that they draw - keep them picked up or avoid the area while the ripe fruit is on the ground. Be aware that many fruit trees do a self-pruning early on, dropping excess fruit so the ones left can mature properly. If you want to know more, a good backyard orchard/fruit tree book will help. Get one from the library and take notes on those 2 trees (I am assuming the other tree is a Fuji apple?) if you don't want to buy a book for yourself - or make a gift of it to your neighbor, assuming you think they need or want one.