Thanks Don for sharing your insight and experience with me. I am prepared to prune like it is going out of style. My back yard is not very challenging to me right now with not much to do in it vegetatively. Even my garden I expanded this year had been very maintenance-free. I think I only pulled half a dozen weeds out since April. I've worked on creating a compact garden and a berry bed in the inside-side of the fence. My back yard is small and only extends about 24' back from the corner of the house. I fenced most of it in. I left some space on the outside of the east side where these trees are going. The soil is especially murderous on that side of the yard. I suspect when this house was constructed a little less than 3 years ago that the access road for the neighborhood construction was through that area. I notice contractor people here like to spread heaps of plentiful limestone rocks around construction sites for their machinery/keep mud down. It gets compacted and pressed down with that heavy equipment as houses are built. Then after a house is built it appears topsoil is added on top for sod, but it is never spread evenly. This explains why the west side of the yard is much easier to put shovel in than the east side. All my neighbors complain about their yards being the same way. Here's an example of what happened to all the rocks dug up in my back yard: I dug the final hole for that Mcintosh this evening and the soil was considerably easier to dig in. I had watered the spot where I wanted the tree a couple times this week and notice before doing that.. that the grass was more lush there. I can visually see where I will have a chore digging and where it will be relatively easy with not nearly as much shovel aerobics to pry out boulders and stones 'glued' into the ground. I hope these trees, as close as they are grow like wildfire because I want more privacy in my little yard. Notice in my picture the houses at the top of the picture... There's always people staring down at my wife and I from those balconies/roadway. We'd much rather they stare at fruit trees. I hope they grow 20' tall. ;) I will be sure to let you know how my Mcintosh grows (or dies). Last winter it was always colder on that side of the house. The path between the houses adjacent to mine act as a wind shaft to convect cold air along that area. Maybe that will be beneficial to the Mcintosh. Time will tell I guess. I will plant the Mcintosh probably tomorrow. I want to mix in some of that fertilized tree/shrub mix with our limely clay soil as I had for the two other trees. I could cram one more tree along the fence, but I have a white pine in the inside that should complete the blocked view (someday). I say I don't mind pruning now, but I may be saying different in 3-5 years eh? :)

Happy Labor Day to all. I received the most wonderful package from Donna earler in the week. It had so many terrific plants and lots of very neat goodies. I love all bulbous plants and Donna really made my day with some Shampoo Ginger, Canna, Pink Crinium and Walking Iris plants. The package also included a Blue Agave and (OH Joy!) a Red Bird of Paradise. I've wanted a Bird of Paradise start for a long time. There were also some nicely packaged seeds of canna, yucca, yarrow, mixed zinna, poppies, larkspur, nasturtium and french marigold. And because she had ALL the bases covered there was still room in the box for some biodegradable potting cells, a gardeners organizer and some lovely bath and nail care goodies. Thank You, Thank You!! All my new babies are in their pots awaiting their place in the mixed bed that I'm putting in this fall.(or as soon as the weather cools LOL) Donna, I'm glad that you liked the Miracle Grow Liquid Feed. It's the best and easiest way to fertilize that I've found. You use it every couple of weeks and it's just amazing how things grow. This exchange was a great idea and a lot of fun. Thanks to everyone and happy gardening. Cindy PS, I'm headed for Maine for a couple of weeks, will check back in with all my GW friends when I get back from the "land of fog and rocks"

Hi Stephanie For a variety that produces reliable and does not get too big, you can try the determinate Florida 91. I am growing 2 plants of those for the community garden and will see how they do. I also like varieties that stay small and last year I tried the New Big Dwarf and it was good, produced decent tomatoes and is a small plant, this year I am also growing one and have to find a place to put it. And all my tomatoes are in their places, I have the smaller fruit varieties in one side And the larger in another side I grow all sort of tomatoes for different tastes but my very favorite are the bi-colors and hearts. Your hubby probably would enjoy a good Brandywine tomato, but those get big and not all are the same, some are not productive. The variety that I am growing for me and the community garden is a Brandywine from Monticello and I was very pleased with the flavor and production. Silvia Here is a link that might be useful: new big dwarf

Carol, I have four bushes of Janet. Two of them are two years old and the other two were planted this spring. I can not figure out the growth habit of this rose - I have one bush that has pretty strong self-supporting canes (so far about 3' tall) and the other three are on a 'spindly' side, kind of sprawling. The blooms are very pretty and last quite a while on the bush, I especially love the color and the undertones. I will hold my judgment and give this rose more time to gain strength. Iris, the Butterfly Flower is 'Clerodendrum Ugandense'. If you look it up on Dave's Garden, you'll find a few vendors selling it pretty inexpensively. Marina