Salt Seems to work pretty good. Like added another 50lbs and seems to be almost dead. But a slow process. And soaking a lot. So Guilty of Killing an O2 producer, guilty of using a lot of water. But almost dead now. And thank you for suggestions to my question before for those who read the question and answered what was asked. The others, burn a candle tonight and prey to a druid god of trees and get out there tomorrow and plant another one, but not in my view! And please note the hillbilly in AL, watch your words and be more diplomatic when you speak. Suggesting people are idiots may have the Hatfields on your door. Thats how those things start Mr McCoy.

Squonnk & whip1 - I am of like mind - I am very big into personal responsibility - which makes me a very odd attorney - & probably the reason why I don't do personal injury work. I knew when I signed up that there would be rules - and I do enjoy many many benefits of a HOA - which has a little to do w/snow removal & the pool & stuff, and more to do w/close-by great neighbors who are always watching out for each other's homes, etc. So, I am completely ok w/being responsible for my decision to buy into a HOA & for the negatives that go with it. My posting was really more of a vent than a "blame game" sort of thing. And, I usually need to vent a little before I come up w/my desired solution - which was to calmly tell my neighbor - the HOA Pres - which I did today - that if it were up to me, I would keep the trees & I would solve his "grass" problem by - installing a retaining wall to level the grade, keep the mega lawn mower off that small area to stop the compaction, and plant shade-friendly stuff. He said his wife agreed w/me :) I felt sooo much better after I talked to him - but I'm also glad I didn't talk to him right away b/c the litigator in me would have ripped his head off. He then told me that the HOA committee is in such a confused state that they can't even decide whether to spend $600 in annuals for the front area - sooo, that left me feeling that it was unlikely that they would get their act together any time soon to make a major tree removal, wall installation, and extensive shrubbery installation decision. BTW, when I noted all of the reasons why to do it my way, he said that one reason he wanted the extra 2 hrs of sunlight (4 - 6 pm) was to "dry out" the grass that IS backc there b/c it gets so waterlogged everytime it rains. First, it would be good if they turned off the automatic sprinklers back there. Second, he completely doesn't understand what I now know THANKS TO THE SOIL FORUM - that poor drainage has nothing to do with the sun and EVERYTHING to do with the SOIL. I feel so blessed to have been introduced to you guys! Thanks! All the Best, Tree

I agree with Ken. You should look into the measures necessary to protect the roots of trees from construction damage. Something as seemingly innocuous as the contractors and workers habitually parking in an area can do permanent damage to a tree's roots. As Ken said, the tree won't die immediately, but may well die a couple of years down the road. There are things you can do to mitigate and limit damage, but you HAVE to institute them from the beginning, AND make it vary clear to your contractor that you insist on them. Setting up fences, laying down a HEAVY layer of mulch, these and other measures can help. It the fence isn't really sturdy, and doesn't include enough area around the trees, the ground can be compacted, to the detriment of the trees. Workers are easily able to say to themselves "it's only once, it doesn't count this time if I park my truck here", which may be true. The problem is, doing something once doesn't always stay with the once. It can become a habitual thing, and the damage is done. You do need to look at what is required to protect your trees, decide which trees you absolutely want to protect and act to protect them. I know from experience that 20' from a building site means nothing when the heavy machinery gets in. And, unless you are building your house on pillars and will have only one machine in there once to auger the holes, plus the concrete truck(s), there will be a LOT of earth moving done, and heavy machinery moving around. I just had a 24 x 36' garage built, on a slab. The footprint of the earth that was actually moved and graded is around 60 x 120', maybe more. Some parts got moved more than once, as the foundation was done and backfilling needed. Between the grading, 10 truckloads of fill, and 6 trucks of gravel and 3 loads of cement, there were a lot of heavy machines in and out. If you plan on a basement, there will be a LOT more earth moving involved, including the dirt that was dug out of the basement and put in a pile somewhere - or, it was piled into dumptrucks and taken away. Plan ahead.

Our last attempt was something very expensive that's a mixture of seed and some other matter which helped keep in in place and moist. I'm sorry I don't recall the name. It was great! the grass grew nicely for a little while, then slowly all died. That's why I think it's because of the decaying tree roots beneath. I'm thinking the roots of the grass get down so far and then they get to the bad stuff and it dies/ Maybe I'm wrong, but this is the pattern I see. So...we have aerated and reseeded in the Fall again. Time will tell!