taterville, Things are coming along very nicely. I bet when you were in school you were one of those students that always did your homework; I never did mine. lol Most of your measurements worked fine, but something went wrong with the measurement of point A. That's my fault, not yours; my instructions were not adequate for the task. As we go along, there will be times when you need to mark a place on the ground in a semi-permanent way. Any number of things can be used; stakes, tent pegs, or nails with a ribbon attached. Now let me revisit the location of point A. You will need to place a marker at point A that is at the bottom toe of the slope about mid way in the curved transition between the relative straight line of the toe running behind your house and the straight line of the toe running along the side of your house. Begin at point A and measure along a line parallel to the back of your house to a point that aligns with the back of your house, shown in my graphic as point B. Earlier you gave that distance as 4ft 11 inches. That may have been correct, but because we may now be starting from a new location for A, you will need to repeat this measurement. Now go back to point A and measure parallel to the side of your house to a point that aligns with the back corner of your house shown as point C. Think of the box defined by the the three points and the back corner of your house as a rectangle. It is the width and length of this rectangle we seek. You did not give a distance from point E to F and I assume that the slope is just too long and slick to make the measurement. That's OK, there are other ways to find the location of point F. I'll prepare some instructions on how to go about it. You are getting close to providing the data needed to produce a base map defining the terrain you have. It wont have the precision of that of a professional, but is certainly suitable for planning purposes. The precision can be improved as needed. Taking what can be used from your photos, the survey, and the measurements requested by yardvaark and myself, I have made a drawing. Contours shown are at 1 ft intervals. Scale, small squares equal 2ft. I will add to and make corrections as additional data comes in. Below is a thumbnail. The full sized drawing Is in the optional link. I would invite everyone to use any of the graphics I provide to convey your ideas for the site. Here is a link that might be useful:

IME, Euonymus 'Green Spire' has some long term issues in the PNW. While I think the plant is extremely attractive and very useful as a narrow profiled accent shrub, it often experiences significant dieback from a fungal pathogen, Oidium euonymus japonici, which occurs only on Euonymus japonicus cultivars. The result is rather unattractive unless pruned out and then you are left with holes in the plant and an uneven form. I have also seen the plant die outright from this problem. Also, the upward sweep of its branching sometimes relaxes and you get odd, directional growth that detracts from the columnar form and needs to be removed. 'Sky Pencil' has proven to be a very reliable plant here but with a narrower profile than the euonymus and a slower growth rate.

get rid of what has been called cereal boxes ... and then see how the rest blooms out in spring .... and then get rid of some other things ... things that were planted as babes.. when the house was built.. with no clue by the planter about how things grow ... and then tortured by hedge pruners.. simply need to go .... you are trying to deal with big freakin problems left by peeps who had no gardening sense ... probably a builder who bought what was cheap ...and what ended up as a nightmare ... get rid of it all ... and plant your own nightmare... and then.. move in a decade or so.. and leave it to the next person to deal with ... lol ken ps: and if you were the original owner.. lol.;.. and made all the mistakes.. well ... time for a change.. just like you got rid of the shag carpeting.. and the paisley Formica in the kitchen ... do not get wound up in keeping .. PROBLEMS .... just like decorating the rest of the house ... time for something new ...

I guess it still come down to how much you value it and how much effort are you willing to give to your orchid tree? I keep hoping someone will chime in and say it comes back from a Austin winter. I have heard of them surviving a San Antonio with a protected position. As to more harm to replant it, welllll I know I wouldn't like it butttt it may not survive (but maybe it will?)if left in the ground. I can't say much about quick start or in general most miracle gro products ( I am biased against them personally) and use rocket fuel, alfalfa pellets and seaweed to kickstart my transplants. Too much phosphorus the main material in quick start and most "root stimulators" are probably best in acid soil conditions not the alkaline soil condition we have west of I-35. I am not saying it can't help it is just not what I would use or could personally reccomend. If I were to repot it I would consider a couple of things. 1. Am I going to keep it in a pot long term (over 1 year)? 2. If so I would amend any potting mix definely if I used mircle gro. ( I use the broke bags at the garden center but add more perlite, soil conditioner (fine shredded pine bark), coconut coir and of course alfalfa pellets and then more osmocote 18-6-12 and medina micronutrients to it. Then dust the rootball and the bottom and sides within the pot with rocket fuel. Then I water the transplant with a weak solution (1 tsp per gal.) of seaweed to finish the process. 3. I am just saying what I use not that this is what everyone should use because it has worked so well for me but just so you know that I have a different approach to the whole transplanting process than many and one that evolved for me over several years of experimenting and observing the results and this is what I found work best overall for me. 4. The key to long term pot success IMHO is to have a majority of the media to be an inert product or at least something that doesn't breakdown too fast. Keeping a good air exchange in the pot profile is of utmost importance. Again this is not the only way but science and practical experience shows me and many others I have worked with and shared gardening containered culture ideas with that this has the best chance of long term health for most any plant (except bog or water plants). If you want to discuss it more let me know what you have questions on and I will offer whatever help I can. Good Luck and Happy Growing David