They are definitely bumble bees. I'm just not completely sure what type. For a while, I thought they were Golden Northern Bumble Bee. Now that I've been watching them for a few days, I think they are Common Eastern Bumble Bees. We've had yellowjacket nests in the past and don't mess around with them. They almost had my husband in the hospital. When he accidentally disturbed their nest, the YJs chased him down the street and stung him 14 times. He was on Benadryl for 2 weeks following. These fellas are about 12 mm long and kind of chubby looking. They have a large furry black head, a yellow furry thorax with a big black spot on the top, and a black furry abdomen. They have two rather see through black wings which the fold overlapping on their back when they are mumbling around on my flowers. They also have black legs on which you can see big sacks of pollen when they are returning to the nest. And, as I said, they are really quite docile. The only time we upset them was when my husband pushed the lawnmower right over the top of their nest. Other than that, you can sit on the ground right next to them and watch them go in and out for hours and they won't bother you a bit. But at this point we are VERY CAREFUL not to tromp on their entrance holes and I won't let the children play anywhere near the nest. (The dog is, of course, more difficult to control - the big goofball.) What I keep wishing for is a nice hungry skunk. The children are generally allergic (cats, dogs, rabbits, pollen, nuts, milk, wheat, etc.), but neither has ever been stung. Unfortunately, we didn't have them tested for bee sting allergies when we had them tested. So at this point, it's an unknown. We do have epi-pens which I carry around for "just in case." About the Rotenone . . . I read online that it is not toxic to bees except in combination with pyrethrum. Here is the link: http://extoxnet.orst.edu/pips/rotenone.htm The Rotenone/Pyrethrins mixture that Bonide sells is a liquid spray. If someone pours this liquid down their hole at night, won't that cause them to come out in attack mode? I think I'm just a little confused as to logistics. I think I'll try the water/hose method first. It would be optimal to just convince them to move house.

Hi Dash, in 2007 and 2008, I bought 1-2 year old seedlings of a bunch of native shrubs and small trees. This included a couple Viburnum species (V. dentatum and V. lentago) and Sorbus americana. The mountain ash did not thrive, and the Viburnums are doing so-so. They have just started flowering, and have not fruited heavily yet. There was one particularly nice V. lentago seedling. It has been an exercise in trying to see what does okay on my dry, upland lot, with part shade and root competition from large trees (especially water hogs like Silver maples). Honestly, not much thrives in such conditions! Many natives prefer more sun and water. Elderberry tends to lose leaves and go dormant in dry conditions, but it survives. Gray dogwood will die back when it's super dry, but again it survives fine. Also, with natives, you might get a bit more insect munching on some plants, but I don't mind, as long as the plants aren't defoliated relentlessly (the Hazelnuts tend to get munched), and the birds are attracted to a healthy insect population. And if you think the average American doesn't understand invasives, they understand insects even less! If one is concerned about growing the most attractive specimens, then nursery cultivars would probably be the best choice.

Well, the oak is host to biodiversity species counted in the hundreds, so it's something to consider for keeping the oak. Otherwise, I have no worthy opinions I can give. I'll be interested to see what the more experiences gardeners say!

Take that blue strap off, regardless of how tight it is and remove the stake. They are unnecessary. Nobody knows exactly what causes coning/lack of coning. With some it's age, stress can certainly be a factor, I've noticed that often I'll have cones on the plant in the pot but then it takes a few years once it's in the ground to really cone again (could be 'bonsai' effect, could be stress of being in pot?). Your plant looks healthy overall.