It can be pretty difficult to grow and maintain grass under a large, mature tree. The shade causes the grass to thin out and even shade-tolerant grasses struggle. If this is the case your options may be limited as far as grass replacement. Digging out the roots will surely affect the tree's health and may even kill it. It would be a shame to lose a mature tree as shade is a premium here in the desert. You may want to opt for gravel but ask that colorful shrubs or groundcovers be included too. Keep in mind that you can add a little soil to cover the roots of the tree, but more than 1/2 inch can reduce oxygen levels which can impact the tree's health. Gravel is better because it allows for oxygen exchange. If shade isn't the issue, I would wonder why the grass has died. The sprinkler system may be in need of repair. Hopefully this would be the HOA's responsibility.

Yeah that's about the right price for the W&N citrus trees at Costco. This year, they stopped providing the semi-dwarf -- unless you actually saw some Ashley? I saw less than 5 semi-dwarf orange, the other 100+ were standard (Carrizo). Last year (2009) it was the other way around. However, the lemon did have about 3 different root stocks to choose from. If they keep the contract with Costco, they should be arriving again around March/Apr. If you are OK with keeping multiple trees, I would take Ashleys' advice and buy the additional one with the shape already set. However, I have planted a Robertson Navel tree that looked exactly like the one in the pic and I am finally training it as a central leader. I let the bottom develop it's natural "bushy" look until it was very well established -- it only was about 4 feet tall at 6 yrs old or so. I've seen MANY of these 4W dwarf Orange bushes STAY at that height. The stated 6'x6' on the label is the "full maturity". The dwarf Meyer bushes can stay moderately sized, but the Eureka's and many grapefruits can still get very big when planted in ground. The new trunk I "chose" is starting to really thicken up now and is now above 7 feet tall with just "enough" strong lateral branching. I'll top it there, but the high vigor will try to sprout more branches right at the top. I don't know how long I'll be pinching the new sprouts back for, maybe forever.

Hi Map1e, I'm doubtful that your tree was grafted. Although your tree could've been grafted its more work for the nursery and why would they do that when a fig does fine on its own roots? I would suggest that you try to root some of your cuttings or if you have any suckers come up pot those up and compare them to the mother tree. If its grafted the suckers and the cuttings that you took will be different. Either the fruit color or leaf structure would be different. Would it be a robust plant if you air layered.... Yes, the fig would have a good headstart if you air layered a section of your 10 ft tree and cut it down to 6ft you would have a 4 ft tree instantly...well almost, you'd have to have roots develop first. I guess that your current option for propagating more trees would be to root some cuttings. Good luck, Little John

Mike, It probably will be fine. I looked at containerized fruit trees in stores near me before and after we had bitterly cold temperatures and wind chills and couldn't see any discerable damage--like frozen-back tips on branches, etc. I am not big on pruning, but I tried hard with the plum trees to prune them well in the early years so they would develop a nice wide bowl shape that lets lots of sunshine reach all the branches equally. That worked out well and they are pretty, but I haven't pruned them much in recent years. They are around 10' tall, so I have to use a ladder to harvest the uppermost fruit, but I love the fruit so much that I don't mind climbing that ladder. Once you get them the shape and size you want them, the pruning required is fairly minimal. I don't spray them for anything and I get a good harvest in any year in which the weather doesn't hit the 80s in February (like it did here a couple of days ago) and make them bloom too early. I have a friend on our street who grows pie apples and he doesn't do much maintenance on his tree either. His biggest challenge is keeping the deer from eating his apples, and to discourage them, he keeps a radio in the tree turned on at night. It is in a zip-lock bag that is zipped shut except where the cord comes out of the bag in order to protect the radio from rainfall and such. If his trees ever has had cedar apple rust, he's never mentioned it. My other apple-growing friend has never mentioned having CAR on his tree either, but he has lots of problems with coddling moths. I just know if I planted an apple tree, it would get CAR every year because we have neighbors on three sides who have let their property become completely and totally infested with cedar trees. I walk out the door at look at those trees and silently will them to die every day .....and it doesn't work. I wish the racoons who spend the whole summer eating my sweet corn would develop a taste for cedar trees. Dawn