alwazeroom4more, The Pawpaw,Asimina triloba doesn't have a separate male and female plant.It's the way the flowers are timed to be fertile that causes them to need another variety to produce fruit.The Sunflower variety is about the only one I've heard to be self fertile. There are other species related to Asimina triloba (Asimina incarna, A. longifolia, A. obovata, A. parviflora, A. pygmaea, A. reticulata, A. tetramera, A. X nashii)that grow more in the Southeastern US.Asimina Triloba requires about 400 chill hours. I have some seedlings,three varieties of A.triloba,but not sure if they are compatible in your zone. Oregon Grape also grows around here in abundance. Brady

Thanks for your responses, and njoasis, I will go outside and try to get a good pic of the leaves. hoseman.....I'd say on the tree that looks the worst, about 30 to 40% of the tree is affected. On the other, about 10 to 20%. There is a VERY large pile of leaves on the ground today after the bad storms we had yesterday. It is definitely a much larger amount than in years past, and I don't recall seeing the black spots in previous years. These tress had a rough start. We bought them while living in Atlanta, and paid $200 a piece for them. They were growing on a lattice. I know there is a name for that, but can"t think of it at the moment. Our intention was to keep them pruned and growing on the lattice, because it was so pretty. Shortly after planting them, (abut 6 mos) we were transfered to Birmingham. We asked the new owners of our home if they would mind if we planted something of there choice in their place, as we would like to take them with us. They were not plant people, and wanted no plants or trees in the back yard, so they were more than happy for us to take them. We also took all of my rose bushes, which are also doing great. We carefully followed the advise of someone on these forums, dug the trees up, put in a huge pot and moved them. Our house was being built so we left them at my Mom's form April until October. We re-planted them in our new house, and prayed. That was 4 years ago this October, and they were flourishing and absolutely gorgeous, even though the advice was it was risky to dig up nd move them. We eventually removed them from the lattice, because they were growing so fast it was becoming increasingly hard to keep them pruned on the lattice. They grew into lovely trees, about about 13 feet tall now. After all the work, and TLC these tress have received, I would be heartbroken to lose them now. I will post pics as soon as I can.

You did not say how long your Birch trees have been growing on the property. If they are well established, you most likely are not considering how wide spreading birch root systems are. If you are putting a hose on the tree, that would not provide the needed water as quickly as the trees need. It would rather be creating a situation where the area around the hose, or where ever gravity draws the water, is watered enough to become deep watered, but the trees wide spreading roots could still remain dry. Additionally very few of the roots will benefit from the deeper soil moisture. Birch roots grow to the depth of the first foot or two of the soil, and they can spread across areas as wide as two, three, or more times farther than the birch's canopy spreads. It would be better to use a sprinkler system that is designed to broadcast the water; not only around the base of the trees, but also around the extended surface area where the trees roots may have spread. Another thing you might need to adjust is how soon you take note that the trees need watering. Do you watch and water at the very first signs of stress the trees show; or do you only jump into action, trying to respond when you see yellow leaves on the tree with some being shed? If you can respond to your trees need for help, before their damage results in the trees going into a kind of shock, then they should bounce back much more quickly.

Yes, we are Sunset 3B here.... The sunshine on most days and temps in summer is the reason so much agriculture grows successfully here. Of course, they irrigate. I am surprised Wenatchee is the same zone as us, but I guess it doesn't take into account the amount of snowfall they get (They are probably the -15f extreme.. we are more like -5f.) RE: the suitability of the trees I listed, The Thornless Honeylocust seems to thrive here, it does well in alkaline soil and is drought tolerant. As a prairie tree, it thrives in full sun. I have noticed many honeylocusts in yards that do not irrigate, growing just fine... The list of negatives of the tree is pretty short, and it seems very adaptable to our conditions. Linden -- RE: irrigating, I don't know. We will have some lawn on the property, so a tree/trees in that area would get more water. Linden tolerates alkaline soil and has small leaves... Thus, it seemed to be an *option.* ash -- I still have to go to our local extension office.. I will ask them about borers here. Ash also tolerates alkaline soil and was another option for my lawn area. If the borers are that bad here, I won't consider it.