Thank you very much for all of the helpful replies. I guess I will wait till fall and see how things go, and be prepared to replace them if they don't survive another summer. First of all, here are a couple of photos of the trunk of the one in the yard (the worst one). You can see where I recently dug out the excess soil piled around the tree and attempted to get it at the level it probably should have been at when they planted the trees. Dwrecktor, it sounds like your experience was very close to mine. Do the pictures above look like your trees did? How long was it between the time your trees were planted and when you removed the excess soil? Mine will have been in the ground for 3 years in September. I sure wish I had known to do that right away. Arktrees, great suggestion on the perc test - I will do that. I do know that the soil is heavy red clay and there isn't much topsoil since they took that away when they built the homes. As a rule, our soil tends to be slightly alkaline from what I've heard. It gets very hot and dry here in the summers. Any suggestions as to what might be a good replacement tree? Since my house faces south, a shade tree is a priority. Other considerations are something that will be less likely to blow over or lose big limbs in our storms, won't overwhelm my small lot, and if it produces something edible (like pecans or fruit) that would always be a plus. Drought and heat tolerance would be pretty high on the list and it would be in full sun pretty much all day on that side of the house. Of course I don't want anything that will mess with the driveway/sidewalk/foundation or plumbing, though maybe that last one isn't a big deal with new construction. I welcome any and all suggestions. My personal favorites are maples and birches and blue spruce, but that's probably the Canadian in me :) I'm guessing none of those would do well down here? I'm guessing the burr oak comment was a joke? What is a chinquapin? Are there any small pecan cultivars that would make a good yard tree, or are they all huge? Also, I was reading about Caddo maples that are native to SW Oklahoma - has anyone had any experience with them? Thanks again everyone for all the helpful replies and for not making me feel more like a total idiot than I already do lol

George, your pruning ideas sound good. I think I will prune this year after blooming is over and then start more aggressively pruning in the future starting next fall. Mad Gallica, these are both ownroot plants. Your description as "creepy-crawlie" stuff is exactly right, that's what the canes now look like (though covered in flowers), particularly the Belle de Crecy. I fed them well...MMM to start the spring and a toplayer of manure. Then Bloomkote Time Release (also from the Mills Mix people) a month later. Hopefully I will get those basals you're talking about. Olga, I also can't stand floppy canes. If early pruning will help to eliminate the problem and build a stronger framework...that sounds good to me. Off the subject of the gallicas but also with a similiar problem...I have an ownroot Abe Darby...planted as a band from Heirloom in 2004. It has only put on some bulk to its canes in the past year but is still under 3 feet high. It is in full sun and had tons of blooms this year for the first time, but was floppy under the weight of the blooms. It's kind of a sprawly, open growth pattern with maybe 5 main canes and not much going on in the middle of the plant. I tried to prune it the David Stone way this spring. I'm hoping to one day have a huge strong Abe Darby like I see in your pics but mine is far from that, even at year four. Any advice for me? Thank you all for your help. I truly appreciate your time! Shelley

I actually live in yukon and no I can't grow vegetables in the front yard. It is a flower bed with 4 baby black diamond crepe myrtles (2 red 2 white). The picture shows 2 Texas star hibicus on the sides and 3 black (actually purple) hybrid hibiscus flowers in front with an incredibly fragrant crinum lily centered. My backyard is microsized as well and no I can't put a garden back there because of my Old English bulldogge. He likes to uproot small trees and hunt gophers that pop holes in the yard. I would like to build a greenhouse to put back there though. I feel the same way about dreaming of a house with more land but what we have here is just right it's a 3 bedroom 2 full bath for just me and my girlfriend. As far as your plans for the expansion looks great on paper to me and I can't wait to see a finished product.

Shelly, I think you need to repost the pic. The plant looks like a carrot and it appears to be well cared for. --Bob