How many inches do the pegs stick up? If you have at least 2 or 3 inches, I'd scrape enough earth from immediately around the pegs so there's an indentation, then water the indentations very well. After that, whack the pins on 4 sides with a sledge hammer. If they don't wiggle, add more water. I'm familiar with re-bar (and lead pipe) used to hold railroad ties and landscape timbers. Do your pins have the corrugated sides of re-bar? If not, how wide are they? Are there any trees or shrubs that might have roots holding on to the pins?

So long story short: here I am, ready to get my trees next week and still no holes dug yet. Winter in Colorado was unusually awful and I was buried from December through 3rd week in March. Had a couple weeks to dig holes in nice weather -- didn't, wife said too early ... and it's been crap weather since (rain all day, or snow). So this weekend the weather MIGHT cooperate ... being 50's on Sat and 60's on Sun ... so I'm thinking about getting a ditch witch with a 36" hydraulic auger on it and doing the following for each hole I dig. I have a bad back -- yeah, it's been repaired -- but I'm using the machine mainly to make things easier on myself and yes, faster. The hole locations have been determined on my plans, which have changed a bit since I last posted the plans here ... and I still need to mark them in the yard and make sure they avoid the utilites [ which have been marked ]. THe buried utilities should be 19" down (or more). When I trench my entire back yard for sprinklers, I never had a thing and was working with a 10-14" deep trench. The utility company said a minimum of 17", but that was done before my builder back-filled and additional 6-18" on top of the original grade. So I'll rake back the mulch in a 4' (or 5') wide circle around each hole location, then auger out the 3' diameter hole, only down 12-15" max. This is for the dirt to have somewhere to go without ruining too much mulch in the process. [Q: should I even worry about my 4-5" of mulch?] The plan would be to rake the mulch back around the tree (not too close) after the trees are planted. Then I'll back fill the outer 10-12" of the 3' hole by hand (shovelling) the edges to create a bowl shape hole which is full depth in the center 12-15" and then tapered to the edges with the back fill. Do I need to rake the mulch back, or could I just auger into the mulch and all? Any ideas or comments appreciated. THe local "colorado experts" still say amending is normal around here, but I'm tempted to skip it and let the trees finds happiness in what I have. I could mix some mulch in if that would help. My mulch is about 2 years old and nice and black (soil-like) on the bottom. Planting about 15 bare root trees and 15 balled and bulapped. I'm having to kind of guess on the actual size of the trees since I really don't know till next week when I go to pick them up. They are advertised as 1.25" caliper. Thanks, Scott

I received 10 small native witch hazel seedlings, about 6" to 12". I'm going to plant a couple of them. The rest, I'm giving away or sell if I do not give all away. They are small and do not bloom yet. If I plant them in ground for a couple of years, then when I dig them up, the root system would be very large. There will be transplant shock. It is more work to grow in pots, and they grow slower. But easier to give away.

Is this a big yard such that there is a lot of space to plant things, whereas it would not be a problem to make YOUR hedge row substantially deeper? (It always helps to post a photo that includes the house, as this is the primary reference element in most residential landscaping.) With neighbors who are uninterested in prettying up an area that is nearly shared, you are faced with creating your own development which covers up your view of their area. Keep in mind that you can do whatever you want to plants on your side of the line and and also to any part of any plant that crosses over the line onto your side. I.e., If a plant from their side sends a branch through the air and said branch crosses over the line (a plane that extends from the line, straight up into the heavens, you can cut the plant back to the line. Imagine a monster chain saw positioned vertically slicing right down the line, and that's what you could do but, of course, you would have to be realistic and do it by some "low gear" method .... loppers, hand saws, small chain saw, etc. As mentioned, placing a privacy fence along your side of the line would give instant visual relief and make a good barrier to help with future maintenance. It would stop all of the neighbor's scruffy plants from reaching into your yard, up to 6' height. You'd still need to manually trim off what hangs over the line above that, or it would shade, and therefore stifle, your plants. With or without a privacy fence, as Gardengal mentioned, you can make your own hedgerow and it can be whatever you want it to be. It can be like a foundation planting, using the fence as a visual backdrop. if you want. Or it can completely screen the fence in time, if that's your preference.