Around here, they generally collect the grounds all the time in the summer because people are always looking for them. But come winter, they stop because no one asks for them. I let my SB know that I was going to be coming in every day, and I have been doing just that all winter. It took them a week or two to realize I was serious, but since then they've been very good about saving them for me. I get 2 5gal pails a day, usually full, or close to it. We have a 4 pail system (2 are mine, 2 theirs) and I just swap them daily. In fact, I usually just help myself if they're busy (but I always try to thank them). I understand they have another regular over the summer, so we'll see what happens then :o) Anyway, if SB is close to where you live and it's practical to go regularly, try and set up a regular pick up. Over the supper hour is a good time as they're usually slow then. I think persistent but polite is the best policy... Good Luck Tim

I'd want to check the planes and the willow for hybridity. The elms are U. parvifolia. You can see the characteristic bark and dark crown of small leaves. U. americana is quite different, as far as it goes. Quercus canariensis raised from seed of cultivated trees is often part Q. robur.

trees do NOT... can NOT.. invade modern chemically welded PVC pipes ... they can very easily do so .. in old fashioned sewer lines.. like at the link if yours were dug out... as you state.. i cant believe they do not modernize the pipe system ... perhaps you should be asking that contractor his opinion??? a very simple primer on tree roots... some say.. a root mass can be 2 or 3 times the size.. of what you see above ... but do NOT confuse yourself into thinking is is in the same shape ... most are pancake flat.. and only a few feet down in the soil [unless there is a leaking fertilizer source down there.. like a sewer pipe] .. see pic below on the root mass of a silver maple .. unless i forget .. lol .. almost all of its roots are there... in the space my ball cap took ... and the large ones going deep ... were headed towards a septic field... go figure on that ... i dont know either of your trees.. but had green and white ash.. both tended toward surface roots ... which was a big problem for me .... i wnated them deeper ... ken Here is a link that might be useful: link

after alot of research i think i've settled on the shoestring acacia. the bottle brush tree is beautiful but i'm not sure if it would do ok on the north side of the house since most everything i read says full sun. plus i'm reading alot of conflicting info on it's growth rate and water needs. i've tried growing little johns before, but with no luck. either they don't like my soil or i didn't water them enough. the australian bottle tree might be a good one, but i think it's eventual height of 40' might be a bit much. and all of the older specimens i see and have found online are much wider, leading me to believe that it spreads as it ages and might not look great with that much pruning later in life. so for the shoestring acacia, it seems to do well in either full sun or partial sun, needs very little watering, has little litter, it's airy enough to allow plantings beneath it, grows very fast, only reaches 20-30' in partial sun, and has virtually no pests or diseases here. they're also recommended for poolsides and often planted right up against large buildings to break up the wall, which tells me i shouldn't have a problem with the roots along my patio or foundation. i also think the shadow that these trees would cast on the garden below would be very pretty and only get better with a little breeze. and since the trees don't seem that heavy and rigid, if for some weird reason one did happen to fall over into a neighboring yard, i don't believe they would cause as much damage as a heavier bottle tree, pine, or palm. the only drawback is that it does not have very dense foliage, so the privacy it provides is limited. however, because of it's flexible and weeping branches it doesn't have a problem getting entangled with other trees which should allow me to plant several shoestring acacias together like a "mini grove" at the end of the patio. this should increase the overall density from the 2nd floor, and make the view from the bottom patio more interesting with more pretty trunks. i'll just have to plant them at odd intervals so they look more natural and less like a man-made row of trees. does anyone have any suggestions on the spacing of these trees? pagancat, i've never been to the DBG before. i live in Imperial Valley, CA (roughly the same climate as phx but slightly milder). i use the tucson and phx sections of gardenweb because there's more info and activity and i know if it will grow there then it will grow here. we just dont get winters as cold as yours because we live below sea level and we generally have more humidity due to all of the agriculture around us. DBG sounds liek a super fun place though, i might have to check it out as a mini-vacation :) grant, running? really? have you lost your mind?? lol