n2p, You might post this question in the fruit tree forum . You will have to provide more info like water regime, soil type and Ph, in-ground or container, etc.Do not over water. More trees are killed by over-watering than anything else. Southern California is great for growing avocados. Talk to a nursery or Google on-line for avocado tree care. GL Aloha

Well, I couldn't stand it any longer so I phoned my landscape center where I bought the trees to see if they could help me out. I had the name wrong, (but close) on tree #2. The tree is a dwarf Coralburst. They claim the one in my parkway is some type of Pear tree, that's all they've carried for the last 7 years of that flowering type according to my description, but I could have sworn we had chosen something other than a Pear because we had a Pear at our last house that grew huge, it was beautiful, but it did split after about 12 years. Thank you all for your help!

...ownership. Smart to think about that. On the other hand, if you need 4 wheel steering, then you need it. Sure there probably will be some additional maintenance costs down the road since the system is more complex than the 300 ... perhaps some additional belts, adjustments, etc when you bring it in for maintenance. The manual or dealer could tell you what additional maintenance is required at various service points (hours) vs. the 300, and the dealer can tell you how much that costs. As far as how the system itself will hold over the long term, that's anyones guess. But so far there are no problems I've heard of ... if there were I think this board would be full of threads. I'm no engineer, but IMHO I would suspect that if there was a major problem it would surface pretty quick. The other part of the answer is JD "green" ... part of what you're paying a premium for. As far as I know, JD has a reputation for standing behind their products. And they seem committed to AWS. So if an unforeseen problem arose far down the road, do you think JD would stand by the 304? If you say "no", then your decision is also made for you ... whay pay more for JD green? But I don't think your answer is "no" ... seems that you're already settled on a JD. The reason to buy the 304 over the 300 is AWS. The K58 tranny is for the additional demands of the AWS... both will peform the same, so if the 304 is suitable for your terrain and weight, then so is the 300. If you say your reason to buy the 304 over the 300 is because of your terrain or weight, then I'd advise talking to your dealer about a more suitable JD ... So it all comes down to one question: do you need AWS or not? If you don't, then you don't need to wonder about any additional maintenance or the possibility of a design flaw down the road. If you do, get the 304.

MiaOKC - thanks for the tip. I will call tomorrow and check it out LazyGardens - likewise thanks for the lead, I will check it out too. Im so excited...hopefully they'll pan out. Gregmills - I'm in the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area and I guess it IS a matter of geography because Ive run up against brick walls trying to get it. Down here everyone is going with the pre-stained or engineered floors, based on what the sales people/contractors tell me. It may be due to humidity concerns. I'm not worried though. As I mentioned in my original post, my house is from the 1940s. The original part sits on joists, a master bedroom addition from the 80s sits on concrete slab. Both have the hardwood and the floors are in awesome shape, no warping of any kind. I'm confident, with a properly installed subfloor, mine will be fine too. Ive tried to make sure my addition did not look like one so I desperately wanted to keep the floors consistent. . Thank you all for the leads. If anyone reading has more suggestions, I'll take 'em.