"I'm surprised they recommended amending the soil. And who recommended a hole that size? Three ft wide by 18 inch deep? You could bury someone in a hole that big." Hah, maybe somebody with experience burying dead bodies?? Seriously, Drew, amending a planting hole IS the "old way". The current line of thinking is NOT to amend the soil. Do NOT till the soil. This can create air pockets which are death to feeder roots. Plus, rototilling damages the fragile soil biosphere, and all the beneficial organisms that are responsible for aiding in nutrient uptake for your tree roots. In fact, recent research has found that tree roots actually do better in compacted soils. The current line of thinking is to follow Mother Nature's advice - Dig a hole large enough to contain the tree root ball, making sure it is not planted any deeper than it was at the growing grounds (if you look at the trunk carefully, you can see where the old soil line was). Back fill with native soil. Water in well and VERY carefully remove any air pockets. Do not stomp down the ground, but carefully make sure it is back filled well. Top with compost, then mulch, making sure the mulch is not up against the trunk (to discourage fungal infections from getting into the bark). ptlvnv, I, too, have caliche soil here and there, between my nearly all DG. Very thin soils here, too, in N. San Diego county, Calif. Less sun plus other variables may cause your trees to break bud a little later. I would not worry about it, stop comparing your area to another area, and continue to water your new trees, and be patient :-) If you've done a gentle scratch test to see if you still have green cambium under the bark, you're fine. Once you have some leafing out, you can apply a little fertilizer mixed into some compost, and top dress your trees. Water in well. Patty S.

I bought them from two reputable nurseries, but nonetheless ones that only offers a 30 day guarantee on plants and trees. They are sugar maples and oaks (I'm in South Carolina) so it's definitely not an issue of cold hardiness. It got cold this past winter (colder than usual from what I understand - I moved here from Iowa last June), but it did not drop below zero. I also did not use any fertilizer or root stimulator at the time of planting. I simply back-filled with the clay soil that the holes were dug from. The oaks were purchased b and b and were in the ground in the late summer; I kept them watered through the winter. They changed colors in the fall (the scarlet oak was beautiful) and held onto their leaves all winter long, losing them only recently. The sugar maple was purchased b and b and planted on the day it was dug from the field (which is about five miles away), which was in december after it had dropped its leaves. It received plenty of water at planting and through the fall and winter as well. The existing root ball is huge, though I realize it's significantly less than what the tree had before it was dug; I hope the digging and subsequent loss of the majority of its roots isn't going to end up killing it. In Iowa I purchased everything in containers. Down here it is significantly less expensive to plant large b and b trees than it was at home, thus, I thought I was doing something pretty special...I'm almost more worried about being able to move the trees if they don't make it than I am the money. They are very large and very heavy. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Thanks for the responses.

I have found that containerized deciduous trees that are kept as cold as possible for as long as possible without being subjected to killing low temperatures, and then moved outdoors into good light when they do break bud will grow with greater vitality and show a greater increase in biomass (more growth) than trees that are forced to or allowed to break bud prematurely, in spite of the extended growing period. I also feel the best thing you can do for trees that have pushed premature foliage is to move them outdoors into good light when temperatures allow and keep them indoors and as cool as possible in good light (unheated garage or shed near a window) when there is danger of exposure to frost outdoors. This is as close as it gets to nature after premature leaf-out, and Mother Nature has proven herself to be a good steward of our trees for a long, long time. Al

The coldest I recorded is those few nights in January, when it was so bitterly cold outside. the lowest reading I got was 21. It's a little (6'x12-15')room at the back of the second floor; no heat vent, windows on three sides and two skylights. Half is over an open back porch, and the other half is over a similarly unheated butler's pantry. I initially rejected it as an over-wintering spot because it was still warm when the figs lost all their leaves in the middle of October and I moved them in. Of course, I also was keeping the door open at that point (for the light it brings into the hallway) and it was siphoning heat from the house. I started keeping the door closed in December when I realized how much it was costing to heat the room! (Just moved in in August, still getting to know the house.) I need to leave the thermometer in there for a few seasons to get to know the spot. I lost all of the dancing fairies I had in pots, but the jasmine I never bothered to move seems to have held on. My old spot was perfect (I thought) because it went down to just below 40 and stayed there. Never below freezing, but never more than a few degrees over 40. I need ot find out how much the sunporch fluctuates -- or is that really that big a deal? I had such a bumper crop of figs last year I'd already started dreaming of what to do with this year's batch!