Any progress on this issue? Do not add any soil to you property until you have a full drainage plan! ÃÂ Getting an engineer involved is advisable, but expensive, I know, I am one. :-) ÃÂ Consider these issues: 1. Drainage should take water away from the house, as quickly as possible, w/o flooding or causing erosion to you or others. Water near the house can cause many problems: ÃÂ movement near the foundation can move soil, which could cause the house to move. More immediately is the dry rot the moisture will cause to the wood of the house. Mold can form ÃÂ Maintaining any vegetation is a problem. Mosquitos will love it.ÃÂ 2. Adding fill material improperly could make matters worse.ÃÂ 3. Water always flows downhill. So, where is the water going. Try to follow it. The best way is to get the elevations of your property surveyed. I love the ability of a contour map to communicate slope of the ground. And water will follow the slope.ÃÂ 4. Decide on the outlets for water from your property. ÃÂ Drain water to the street, if possible. ÃÂ If not, build dry wells, but check percolation rates carefully. ÃÂ Be very careful about draining water on to neighboring property.ÃÂ 5. Find the sources of the water.ÃÂ 6. ÃÂ Create drain paths from (or near) sources to the outlets: There are several options to do this: (a) ditch, which needs a slope of at least 1%, 3 % is recommended; (b) Underground drain, such as a French Drain, which needs no slope, or a mini-storm drain pipe, which only it needs at least 0.1% slope, or combine French Drain and pipe; (c) pressure pipe,collect the water at a central spot and then pump the water. There are a lot of pages about all of these issues on the Web. This can be a big job.ÃÂ Good luck!

Phillip, since you just recently moved into the house, the reasons for the trees conditions could be hidden from you. I mean concerning the previous owners' process of maintaining the pool water's proper salt content. For a friend, I helped plant about 14 GGs along her fence line that ran slightly down hill along the north side of her husband's lap pool which is only 4 feet deep and kept filled with salt solution treated water. When we planted the trees I had no idea that at times he had to flush the pool and refill. I guess that effort must have been used to keep the salt levels from becoming too concentrated. While these GGS were attempting to get established we had a very difficut time keeping them alive, because the lower elevated ones' roots seemed to suffocate, while the higher elevated ones roots seemed dry out too quickly. After a week of this, it turned out that it was the salt water that her husband was flushing out of his pool that was giving the trees the most trouble. Once he realized this fact, he redirected where he drained that salty water. After that the GGS were able to establish and pulled through, only growing more slowly than normally would be expected. Some died had to be replanted. It has been almost 4 years ago when we first planted those GGs. when we first planted those GGs they were all about 2 feet tall, but now are only about 8 feet tall with more full lower levels of branch lengths like seen in some of Ken's trees. The reason I discribed that was because even though her husband stopped flushing out the water and letting it flow down the slope toward the lower trees, and the trees began to do much better, they still have struggled more and grown more slowly. There also are still two of her trees which are planted next to each other, that are almost 4 feet shorter than the rest of the GGS. My friend told me those two trees were being affected from where her husband had redirected the water he flushes from the pool. I have not seen her husband do this and do not know how much of the salty water could be affecting these two tree's roots, but clearly they would not be growing so slower than the rest, if they did not have to struggle with the gradually elevating build up of salt levels in the soil. You should also pay more attention to what affect that your neighbors rain run-off has on your trees, as that water rushes through your fence and flash floods your trees.

Hi Ritholtz - Leylands are beautiful trees. If you want to trim them that short, they may be more prone to disease over time. It's better to find a plant that you can prune a bit closer to it's mature height. Maybe other can weigh in on this? Neil Sperry says never to "top" a tree. Because I read recently that Neil Sperry (or Howard Garrett) no longer recommends Leyland Cypress for Texas, I marked it off of my consideration list (arborvitae's are prone to a lot of insects?). Because of that, I am focusing more on junipers. You can google evergreen plant nursery for dimensions, "mature" rate, etc... If you are interested, I would do some further research. Last night I was looking at some videos of Wax Myrtle on youtube. I recommend checking the videos and google "wax myrtle trees" images. Yes, they do need to be pruned and trained as a tree (some people want them to grow more as a shrub). They take really well to pruning so it is possible to make them look like a nice tree. I found some really nice ones. Right now, I'm looking at the Majestic Beauty Indian Hawthorne; It grows to the right dimensions, is evergreen, drought tolerant. I would have to find a larger size since it is only moderate growing... Here's what I'm doing - a combination of spartan juniper, Nellie Steven's Holly, Blue Point Juniper, Majestic Beauty Indian Hawthorne, and Cleveland Pear (hardier version of the Bradford Pear - a bit larger and still very dense). I know some people hate the pears but I think they are "well-groomed" and provide good density. Cleveland is less prone to blowing over in an ice storm. Also, according to Neil Sperry, they have a moderate lifespan (25-50 years) and fast growing. In all these trees, I'm taking into consideration - hardiness, drought resistance, density (for privacy) and beauty. I've been reading Neil Sperry's gardening book to help narrow down choices; I recommend it! Hope you can find some answers!

Dead branches on the Japanese maples. indicate that they were unhappy sometime in the past. No way, without a complete history, to know why. When arb foliage thins, it's not coming back. Doesn't matter at the bottom, back sides ... where it can't be seen. I've not heard of that artillery fungus before. Plants are phenomenal! I think from a ladder, using the pole saw, you can remove 1/3 of the limb at a time. If you used the pole chain saw, you'd cut through too quickly and instead of folding, it would drop wherever and whenever. You'll need to call a pro if you gauge it be too risky. The two Jap. maples in the recent pictures look like they may not be getting enough light. One looks like it suffered from the transplant operation. In transplant, there is always some risk. One just tries to do the best they can and hope for the best. For a transplant to elsewhere in the yard, first dig the receiving planting hole. At the plant to be moved, use a drain spade (long straight shovel -- I'm sure you have one :-) to cut around the tree/shrub, with it ending up as if you've cut it out of the ground using a cookie cutter. I usually go completely around 3 times, trying to make sure that all roots are cut. You'll want the cut line to be a circle that is enough distance from the trunk(s) that the resulting rootball is large enough to hold enough roots that the plant can live ... but not so large that it is too heavy and unmanageable, as soil is very heavy. You'll also want the shovel to be at an angle so the rootball can be extricated and is not so heavy. After you've used a drain spade to cut the sides of the rootball, you'll want to use a shovel, possibly two located at opposite sides of the circle, to gently pry the rootball from the surrounding soil. There may be roots connected at the bottom center. You'd need pry up with one shovel, while using the drain spade to stab under the rootball, trying to sever the roots. The main objective while performing the aforementioned operation is to NOT break up the rootball that is being removed from the ground. You want it to come out of the ground in one whole chunk, with the plant in it. Have a tarp or old sheet ready next to the hole to set the plant on, being careful not to break the rootball. It could either be carried by two people or set in a wheelbarrow and given a ride to the new location. I wouldn't drag it on the ground unless going slow and careful to a destination that was very close, as moving across bumpy ground will usually shake the rootball apart. When you get it to the new location, adjust the soil level of the planting hole to bring the thickness of the rootball to the right height (same as it was growing before or slightly higher, as there may be a little settlement.) Before backfilling, rotate the rootball for the tree's best appearance. If this is done during the growing season, I would add a handful or two of fertilizer to the planting hole/backfill soil. And trim the tree trying to reduce its foliage (so as to balance with the roots that have been removed. This would be removing any bottom branches that don't need to be there anyway, and as an overall haircut of the top portion.