Just thought I would come back and update this thread! I think that I bought some of this stuff in late 2010, but I don't know definitely. I have notes from 2011. Ozark Premier plum from womack: growing great, no fruit yet. Redglobe peach from womack: growing great, fruited last year. less than a dozen peaches with good flavor. Orient pear from womack: growing great, no fruit. Eureka persimmon from womack: dead. my fault. transplanted in the heat of summer last year and it didn't make it. hadn't fruit yet. Phil's sweet pomegranate from edible landscaping: growing great. had two poms last year. very sweet, very little tartness. minimal hard seeds. Jersey knight asparagus from edible landscaping: growing great. harvested a few spears last year. already growing this year. Grapes from lowes: hit or miss on how well its doing. bought flame red, thompson red and monukka. Weeping mulberry from edible landscaping: growing. probably didn't trim properly, as its still very low. fruited last year and can already see fruit now. fruits were very edible (I was concerned that it might be more decorative). i would say sweet. Illinois everbearing mulberry: growing slowly. moved it last year, so it might be a little shocked. did get a handful of fruits last year. At my previous house, I had both navajo and arapaho blackberries in slight shade. They both grew. The navajo berries were superior in sweetness to the arapaho. I have chosen to put in some navajo at the current house.

I live in DFW also and have been concerned about the number of unhealthy or dead trees in our area. I have a live oak that has black knots on the branches, and two bradford pears (2 year old plantings) in the back of the house, one in the front. The two in the back started showing signs of stress in early spring (droopy leaves, slight discoloration, then a few small branches with leaves that looked burnt and brown. I had an arborist come out and look at them (waste of money around here...he was fairly clueless), took samples to local nurseries, and did research myself. If one person would say bugs, the other would say drought, and yet another would say fungus (but none of them knew what kind). All told me to treat the trees with a fungal/insecticide mixture. After treatment, one of the back yard pears browned and died in a week, the other has held on for months but now is browning quickly. The trees in front are starting to show the same pattern of tree death as are many, MANY trees and bushes of all ages, types and sizes in the Arlington/Grand Prairie area. I just cannot figure out what is going on. Apparently, neither can the professionals. I, like many around here, am urgently looking for answers.

Not Hudar...never heard of this one. My Golden spice, not too many this year, still on the tree, this one is still one of my favored because it stores about for 3 weeks in fridge and taste pretty good when ready, [slightly on the tart side] Early Gold I have but didn't fruit yet, some people say it's not much of a good pear. The best early one I have is the Westfort ...about a month early then Golden Spice and ripens on the tree, when picked she is nice, sweet and juicy...better then Golden spice. Summercrisp doesn't do well at all for me....seems not hardy enough.

The first two sections in this article on Hardy Plants for the Dallas Area make a pretty good tree list for much of north Texas. I like almost all, but cedar elm, bald cypress, red/live oaks, and Chinese pistachio are probably the most used/best proven in our neighborhood on the north side of Dallas. Pecan also does very well and grows relatively fast, though can get very broad and drop a variety of litter - much of it knocked/chewed off by squirrels. Cedar elms provide reliable yellow fall color and the tiny leaves don't need raking. Similar benefits with bald cypress, except fall color is rust. Some red oaks (Shumard, Texas) and Chinese pistachio can give wonderful reds in some years. Buying while their leaves are in color or going with a named cultivar can improve the chances, but is no guarantee once sited. Shantung maple, like 'Fire Dragon', and Ginkgo (male only) are a couple not on the list that can provide color/interest and do well here.