I want to thank everyone who took the time to post such detailed and wonderful advice here! My renovation is finally done and I am getting ready to plant. At last! I have been closely reviewing all the suggestions and advice and have come up with what I hope is a good plan. I had 6" of sand removed, added an equal amount of compost and have irrigation going in as soon as I finalize my planting scheme. I have been using Pinterest to gather images of all the plants you recommended and narrow down selections. The San Marcos Growers site as well as some of the other links posted have been invaluable as a resource for what is available in my area and in helping select appropriate plants. I am attaching my plan. The house faces the ocean but there is a parking lot & a lot of tourist foot traffic in between so we put up a 4' wall with another 2' of semi-open wood fence on top. Also, just to the south west of the house is a large lifeguard station / maintenance area that isn't pretty to look at so the tree is placed to soften the view of that. Finally, the sides of the house remain sand in this plan. On the north side, there is only 16" to our property line and on the south side, the same plus another 3' that belongs to our neighbor. That area is needed for access and I'm not sure what else to do with it. I am imagining gravel would just get mixed in and covered with sand soon anyway? I guess we could pour concrete?) I am also including a link to my Pinterest page with the plant selection. There are a couple extras as I can't quite decide which Leucadendron & which Protea I prefer. I would love to hear any thoughts or comments before I start buying plants! Thanks again!

Came here during some research I'm trying to do on this subject because of some potential plans I have on planting one of a few eucalyptus species, and while there's a lot of good information/discourse here on variables concerning affected plants, mulch quality, effect on soil, and other factors that may affect plants such as water and root competition, I'm kind of noticing a pattern here and elsewhere: There's a lot of lumping eucalyptus into one umbrella category...Guys, there's like 700 something species in this genus; they are not all created equal. I think that also may be partially why there seems to be so much debate over the subject, two different people could be very well talking about two different species. I'm not saying everyone has to be a friggin botanist over it, but it really is helpful to know what species any given person is talking about. Maybe then we can start to notice a pattern with one given variety or another. Just my two cents. As an aside, I kind of think climate may have a non negligible part to play. I could definitely see these chemicals hanging around in the soil a lot differently in a more arid environment with lots of organic matter build up versus a wet rainy tropical environment where everything either leaches away or decays as fast as you can blink at it.

Dave, I don't know if you read this post or not. More info at the conclusion of post. Thu, Jul 24, 08 at 11:20 "Just a note about what is commonly called black tip among plumeria growers. Black tip in NOT caused by fungal issues according to the latest research. Several of us on the West Coast have sent samples of "black tip" to labs. The conclusion of the labs testing on freshly harvested new appearances of stems with "black tip" was "no fungus found". With older stems there were findings of fungal (fuserium being one) activity leading to the conclusion that fungal activity was secondary. Another study by Sean Miller and recognized by Dr. Criley was; mites on the tip of stems cause stress to the plant and the plumeria develops "black tip". See this link: http://plumeriatc.org/ It's a changing world out there (lol) it is sad the Plumeria Societies don't recognize these latest scientific findings. Sean Miller discusses treatment for mites at his web site. We mostly know how to treat fungal issues with fungicides. This method doesn't always rectify the problem, finding the source of the stress is also part of the remedy. "Black tip" is much more complex then a simple fungal issue this is why it can become very difficult to control." Here is a link that might be useful: Sean Miller" Many of your conclusions on this subject seem logical and agree with the latest buzz and studying. As you well know all the plumeria societies and many that have websites stick to "fungus" as the cause. Trying not to be repetitious fungal issues are a secondary issue in all cases studied by me and others. We have found the healthier the plant the less issues with "black tip". What we know as "black tip" does not occur often or not at all in many tropic areas. The plumeria defined by science is a "tropical succulent tree". Most that frequent this forum grow their plumeria out of its natural habitat. In addition it may grow in sub tropical regions such as Southern California and Florida however the many issues including "black tip" prove that science is correct in labeling it a TROPICAL TREE. Jack

My dream is to create a Bonsai using this famous "Angel Oak Tree". I love the branching structure on this tree but it is the opposite of Bonsai and is more like a Giant. http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://stylefrizz.com/img/angel-oak-tree-l.jpg&imgrefurl=http://stylefrizz.com/200810/easy-like-the-angel-oak-tree/&usg=__l5As7K3ZeVcJcU8dLB7w1MlSPyM=&h=564&w=850&sz=168&hl=en&start=0amp;zoom=1&tbnid=JycuaYpQImageM:&tbnh=100&tbnw=151&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dangel%2Boak%2Btree%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1920%26bih%3D895%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=106&vpy=107&dur=735&hovh=183&hovw=276&tx=152&ty=84&ei=k86eTI-XI42-sQPZoJ3WAQ&oei=k86eTI-XI42-sQPZoJ3WAQ&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=33&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0