It's a nice plant. I'd make a plan that includes having a very fast draining soil at the ready at repot time. I can help with that if you're interested - your soil can make a very significant difference in how well this plant grows and the plant's o/a health. There is less risk of trouble if you wait to repot until early summer when the plant is growing well. When you repot, you should bare-root the plant and move to a larger pot. The plant would prefer it's summers outdoors in full sun, but should be acclimated by moving the plant first to several days of shade, then morning and afternoon sun for several days, then move into a full sun spot during a cloudy period if possible. 10 days to 2 weeks is about the right amount of time to acclimate this plant. Don't despair if lower leaves start to fall off soon after the acclimation - it's normal. Al

I'd say most home inspectors probably know a lot about plumbing and very little about pruning, and I'd see if the sellers would allow you to call in an arborist for a consultation. I'm actually kind of surprised they'd prune an oak, as most oaks look far better if allowed to grow naturally; but trees too close to the house can be dangerous in high winds even if they don't fall down (flapping branches can lash the roof or break windows), and they can also provide a way into the house for vermin, so it may have been the lesser of two evils. It's true that improperly pruned trees are bad, but oaks are very strong and deep-rooted (and therefore good neighbors, as opposed to, say, pines) and trees in general are very resilient and will recover on their own if left to themselves. Plus, if it's a mature oak it's a treasure that your grandchildren will be able to enjoy.

Thanks a lot for the compliment Bananafan! I appreciate it! I definitely try to make the best of my climate. Luckily there is a lot of moisture year round by me so that does give me the opportunity to grow a lot of vegetation. Every year I get more and more species of plants, it's hard to keep up with them all after a while, but so far I've managed pretty well. Not sure what purple sedum you are referring to (is it the purple heat vine?), but that, the arborvitae and the passion vine are all cold hardy here so they are one of the easier plants for me to grow! Arborvitaes are a little bit overused here so I'd rather have something else in my yard other than them, but they look nice and are expensive (and just as expensive to dig up and replace) so I'll be probably be keeping them for many more years! The passion vine is probably my favorite bloom. Not only is it cold tolerant, but it's a fast grower too. I got it as a small plant for 2 dollars at a local nursery in July 2010. Now they cover a huge portion of my pool fence and there are seedlings popping up around my yard (they dont seem too invasive though). I know that the Pacific Northwest has some of the best gardening in the country and it is definitely cool year round so I would agree that cool climates are actually great for a lot of flowering plants! It gets pretty hot by me in the summer so that does limit the number of flowers I can grow a little bit.

Thanks Mallee for the advice. Will any fungicide work or would you recommend a certain one? Because it was under a ginko, I found ginko seeds and leaves in the crown. There were even worms coming out of the rot. The tree is planted at the end of a cement slab on a slight rise. Even though it is in clay soil, it is pretty well drained and no added amendments. I am also noticing little sprouts -not our native grasses but looks tougher-like maybe new seedlings (I did get a good amount of the existing soil and the tree had flowered before.) The main trunk looks very odd now. I few small newer whisps of green on the right crown where no rot is that I found, and on the soil line on the left, two tufts of green fronds. How will this become a tree again? Any thoughts? Wanting to keep this tree growing-need help. Sondra