I've purchased a few trees from Costco but I don't know if they were from the same supplier. My Greengage plum is out-of-this-world in sweetness. My Red Clapp's Favorite and Moonglow pears have not produced for me yet but the trees are quite healthy. My 4-in-1 cold-hardy plum has done well but I have not pruned it aggressively enough for all the grafts to produce. (It's on Toka and the Toka is taking over, but that's not the trees fault.) I just remembered that I bought an apricot, can't remember which cultivar, it was one of the last of the trees and discounted to $10.00 and it has done very well. I have noticed that the selections that we get here in Denver are all well adapted to our climate, which is really surprising. The trees are bare-root. The only issue I've had is that they put the trees inside and then they break dormancy too early, at least here in Colorado. When I bought my first trees the rootstocks were listed as, "semi-dwarf", but I believe they are now listing the rootstock on the label. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a tree at Costco if it was what I wanted, both cultivar and rootstock. Even with the sad shape that my $10.00 apricot tree was in it pulled through and even produced a few apricots its first season. And as you mentioned, Costco's return policy can't be beat, plus no shipping charge. The trees at Costco have been far better health-wise than Home Depot or Lowe's. I think the other stores just pot up the bare root trees and then let them break dormancy in the pot. At least Costco doesn't pretend that they were pot-grown, which I wouldn't want any way. So, if I were you I'd grab the Loring and Methley. This post was edited by milehighgirl on Wed, Feb 27, 13 at 14:43

I know I have blessed with this unusual rain. In May we had 16.5 inches and June is still higher than usual. I grew up in south Texas so I am no stranger to the heat, but I am a stranger to this shade. When I moved in I put thermometers around the house to help me judge the new climate. 15 oaks on 1/4 of an acre has turned out to be quite a niche for me. I checked all the thermometers, at the end of our only sunny week in June and there was an 18 degree difference between my house/lawn and my neighbors! My electric bill was also much lower compared south Texas-go figure. As for reseeding, If it does die I will just reseed it later. I still have about 5 lbs left for this fall. I purchased about 11 lbs of seed at homedepot for $2 because I had asked if they had any seed with holes in the bag they couldn't sell. Sure enough luck was on my side. The heat-tolerant Kentucky was the closest thing to my zone so thats what I chose. What mattered most to me was that my lawn didn't end up in my neighbors driveway like it had been for the last 4 years. Also, this is not my house, it is a rental so I'm not game for sod. I will be moving out in 13 months as soon as I finish my never ending research. I will probably be headed to boerne texas (were St. Augustine is banned). Heather

Bboy, it is my understanding that the harm from amending backfill comes from the restricted lateral movement of roots through the amended soil/unamended soil interface, which causes lateral roots to encircle the trunk of the tree. Downward moving roots don't encircle trunks. If the bottom of the root ball sits at grade when planted, over unamended soil, whether the backfill in the mound the tree is planted in is amended or not, there is no lateral movement of the roots possible, and thus, no possibility of encircling roots. The roots can only go straight down with this planting method, into the unamended soil underneath, and THEN laterally into the unamended, surrounding soil. The roots never have to penetrate through an inhibiting, lateral interface. The roots in the amended mound have no place to go but down in order to find water. The mound gets dry fairly quickly compared to the surroundingsoil. So the roots are trying to escape the mound, they can only go down, and by the time the roots start spreading laterally, they are no longer surrounding the trunk, they are well under the tree and out of harm's way. I believe this is a way to establish roots quicker, and not violate the amended hole paradigm, with no possibility of harm now or later. I base that on logic, experimentation, and having observed how much better trees seem to grow in clay when they are planted very high.. My theory is that the roots are forced to exit the immediate planting area surrounding the trunk faster when planted in a mound, and in addition, the tree can be watered much more heavily, without risk of drowning, Maybe I should have saved this for a more theoretical thread and not in response to a newcomer's question. M This post was edited by Mackel-in-DFW on Sat, Apr 26, 14 at 12:39

Ohhh trux......I'm so excited for you!!!!..I Know reading how worried you were!..It has turned out So Beautiful!!!..Please keep posting pictures!!! I "CANNOT" wait to see the Finale!!! In regards to, IF they would allow the Pool to be done 'before' the Addition, Regal Pools, will NOT even "think" about putting the Pebble Sheen in the pool YET....AND I totally agree with them with all the scraps of wood and shingles and the overall "construction" "Regal" Personally will not allow anything happening to the integrity of the gunite...IM IMPATIENT...and Want it NOW....but I totally Understand!!! They Warrant and Stand by their build enough to "deny" me the Pebble Sheen that I "desire"...and I totally "Respect" their reasoning behind this!!!.. Even at this stage in the ENTIRE project (which is a Huge Build).....Regal Pools has been so "Patient" with me (Again..NOT an easy task!)...and I totally Trust them!...hard to say that about some builds!..But .. seriously...Josh has been a God Send! Keep posting Trux!! I cannot wait to see the finished Design!!!