I recently sent some pecan, hickory, and walnut seednuts to a friend in the UK. Those are allowed - I declared what they were when I mailed the package, and he indicated that customs officials had indeed opened and inspected the package, but had re-sealed it and delivered it unscathed. However, he indicated that scionwood is not allowed to be imported into the UK without a phytosanitary permit. There may be other prohibitions or requirements as well. He's been collecting and importing oak & nut species for some time, and is more conversant on the requirements than I(who know nothing).

You can top an American persimmon and keep the height in check. American persimmons are astringent so birds and other wildlife don't generally bother them until they ripen. This is not the case with some Oriental persimmons. I use American persimmons for deer specifically because they are native to my area and low maintenance. You can't do much maintenance on hundreds of trees scattered across a couple hundred acres. Astringency helps me because flying and climbing animals don't much bother the persimmons. The don't get fully ripe until the fall on the ground. At that point deer have an equal chance as other wildlife. Most critters in the woods eat persimmon when they are ripe. So if you are living with wildlife in the area, they will keep the persimmons cleaned up pretty well from the ground. There are also some oriental persimmons as well as crosses between American and Oriental that are astringent. For a situation like yours, they may be a fit. If you use Lotus rootstock instead of Virginia they tend to be smaller trees. Many of the Oriental persimmons ripen on the tree and do not fall. If you use an astringent variety, they will be largely protected from animal use until they ripen. At that point you will need to compete with climbing animals. In a landscape setting you would not have the fruit on the ground issues if you don't have wildlife around to clean them up. My personal experience is with American persimmons for wildlife. I just throw Oriental out as an option for you. Others can help with specific varieties. I don't know if they are as maintenance free as American. Thanks, Jack

The following may be of help: You could go for dwarf trees and grow them in containers. You can definitely get crops from apples, peaches, apricots, and citrus grown aboveground in suitable tubs. I'm not sure from your posting what sort of soil you're battling with. I'm guessing some sort of clay which dries out and doesn't let water penetrate very deeply. A better scheme can be to plant wide and shallow. And make sure the edges of the hole are ragged not smooth. As far as you can, break up the bottom of your planting hole and mix some of your good soil with it. Do this at a time when the clay works easily. Too wet and you wreck the soil structure. Too dry and you've taken on a tough job. I'd use a spading fork but a friend uses a long-handled shovel on his sticky clay and gets excellent results. Next, in the middle of this three foot wide 18" deep saucer make a mound of your better soil. If you can also mix some of the natural soil with it, fine. And any general fertiliser that's suitable for your area. Do the same with the soil you'll be back filling into the hole. Be frugal with the fertiliser. Less is better than more. If you need to stake trees in your yard put it in now, before the tree goes in. If your tree is bare rooted - trim off any damaged roots ensuring that the cut faces downward. Prune back surplus branches to growing points. You must have a balance between roots in the ground and branches above ground. If your tree has come in a container water it thoroughly the day before you plant it. Plunge the container into a bucket of water and leave it there until the bubbles stop. Then leave it a further five minutes. Take it out and let it drain. Prune it while it is still stable in the container. Next day take it from the container and tease out the roots - especially if they have started to coil around the inside of the container. You need them spread out. Work quickly so the roots have no chance to dry out. Place the tree on the mound and spread the roots over that mound like sauce over a ball of icecream. Loosely tie it to the stake with the usual figure-eight loop. Backfill the hole and firm down the soil with gentle foot pressure. Then water it in and add your mulch to cover a circle at least two feet wide and keep it away from the trunk by about two inches. Aim to keep that circle clear of weeds and grass for at least a couple of years. If you are safe to plant in autumn you can take advantage of the soil warmth and any winter rains. If you get severe frosts and frost heave put down a thick mulch to give protection for the roots below. Ice can easily push a young plant from the ground. Keep the trees watered for at least the first two or three years and be sure to check the ties. Put up wind protection if you find the leaves are being wind-burnt by the prevailing hot or icy winds. If you mulch with pebbles then water will get through more easily but the soil will not improve. If you use compost, then keep the surface stirred so water can get through more easily and not just lock up in the top couple of inches. It looks watered but the ground below starts to parch. Be sure you've chosen varieties suitable for your area - even if that means taking on new tastes. You might find that using a thick groundcover of bark instead of grass gives more protection. For one thing, there's less risk of accidental trunk damage from being hit by a mower. Check that your water is not too mineralised for the trees you're trying to grow. And, to confuse things, that you're not missing any trace elements in your area. Minerals such as boron and magnesium are vital and plants quite quickly show ill-health if anything vital is missing. FWIW I'm suspecting that the trees may have either droughted - or drowned.

Auntfer, what the tag refers to is that you need to get a second almond tree, of the variety "Non Pareil" to provide the pollen to pollinate your first tree. Almonds are not self-fertile--that means that the pollen from the almond can't pollenate itself. Non Pareil is very common in California (I got a bareroot one at Home Depot in January), and blooms at a certain time different from other varieties. To get good pollination, you have to have both trees flowering at the same time. The other fruits--apples, peach, etc--are different species, and species generally can't pollenate different species (or you would get a hybrid). Just ask for a "Non Pareil" almond tree at a nursery. There's a good summary of almond varieties and pollination issues at http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/files/filelibrary/1214/12407.pdf David