Yes, I forgot to mention that the water here is neutral to slightly acidic, and soft with low TDS. And humidity is high. Thank you, Kim, for adding the info. I'd like to add, about the issue of humidity. Besides misting or covering, perhaps having shorter cuttings put in tall cups might also help if the humidity in your area is not enough. Pictured below, I've tried taking very short cuttings (two leafy nodes) and placing them in 7-inch tall transparent cups. There's a hole drilled an inch from the bottom of each cup for overflow of excess water. I put this batch under full sun, with much success (in December, when the weather is nice and cool in Taiwan, any other time the cuttings would be fried under the subtropical full sun here I guess). As everyone says, hope you'll try different methods and good luck! :-) Hardy

20 years ago the previous owner put on an addition on the back of this house. There is a large Pin Oak about 15 feet from the side of the addition. I would guess that about 4-6 inches of soil was graded over approx. 40% of the root system. The tree has survived this, and is very much alive and huge, however there has been progressive die back of the lower branches, particularly on the side that the grading was done. I'm think I will need to have it pruned, because it holds onto dead branches forever, and then it's constantly raining down sticks. Is there any tree out there that could survive being buried in 3-5 feet of clay?? Yikes.

I have had such a huge amount of brush every year for 12 years of living on this property, that I burn every Spring (even though I HATE burning - it is hot, dirty, and a PITA). There was so much brush because this 1.25 acre lot was horribly overgrown with mostly invasive woody plants, including oriental bittersweet, both common and glossy buckthorn, honeysuckle, HUNDREDS of Norway maples, Rosa multiflora, etc. I have been working on removing invasives and preserving/planting natives since 2005. It is pretty well under control, except for the back 1/4 acre or so, which is mostly wild and still has some invasive overgrowth. In lieu of burning, I am planning to create wildlife brush piles in the way back. I have used a number of buckthorn and norway maple trunks to build a 20 foot trellis. Ctpnchr, I like the idea of brush fences!

Thanks, I did end up trimming the juniper. I will do as you say for it to train it further back from curb. I saw one at a local nursery here named "Bordines" years ago. Theirs is monster wide. I loved it. Mine's healthy like theirs too. The pine tree hadn't been cut since I've owned it except the leader cut a bit. It was little but bushy when I got it. I knew it would be 50' tall someday. I planted it in too shady of a spot so it looked anemic. I moved it 3-4 years ago. The only cut I made was in the leader to make it bushier. It has a small bottom because it was light starved in earlier years. I don't care about Xmas tree shape. I want natural and healthy. I did trim the pine minimally. I'll see if it's enough. My neighbor's yards look like scorched earth grass these days with privets and yews only. My yard's all healthy and green. Ken, will the lower layers get wider? I didn't know that. When I look at pine trees around town, most of the limbed up ones look sort of dried up and marginally healthy. There are some healthy specimens by very expensive lakefront condos that are massive on the bottom and get smaller as they go toward the top. They aren't limed up but they're not close to road yet. If mine start to grow over the curb at the bottom layers, even I would cut them back without being asked. I don't expect people too need a machete to walk down the street (we don't have sidewalks). There is an easement but the city even plants trees in it after they tear it up for road construction, etc. The only risk is if they ever need to tear up my side of street, bye bye pine. I don't think they will because other side of street was massively torn up in 2000 or so to put in giant sewer pipes. There are many trees planted by road everywhere in the city. The block over used to have beautiful canopy of all elms that met join the middle over the street before Dutch Elm disease claimed them in the 70s or so. Thanks for the pruning advice Ken. P.S. Tree is about 40' from house.