Pam, I'm not sure what you meant by that but i think you're missing the point. It's about developing better root system regardless of where you plant, what the climate is and what tree species are. Better root system means better/faster establishment. It is a pain in the butt dealing with one long tap root that get circled around in the container. You have to mess with it to get it straightened out and not to mention more digging to get it deep enough. You don't have to worry about it with rootmaker's way. You just simply dig a hole and drop the tree in and move on. Here is the info from rootmaker website about seedlings plant out.. Question: Do you have any information on the use/success on the out planting of container seedlings grown in RootMaker II containers directly in the field for conservation/reforestation type projects? Answer: Tree seedlings in RootMaker® II propagation containers are routinely taken to the field when they are 12 to 16 inches tall and 3 to 4 months old. This has been done by hundreds of nurseries across the country. Most do fall planting  September or October and some have drip irrigation and others do not. (Drip irrigation assures nearly 100% survival. But even without drip irrigation, the success rate is quite high, except for the occasional severe drought immediately following planting). The primary reason for planting tree seedlings at a larger size is that in the small growth stage, telling seedlings that will make winner trees from culls is tough and the cull rate may be as high as 25 to 30% or more for the oaks. In one gallons, the cull rate drops to 7 to 10% and with 3 gallons to 2 to 3%.

bumpety bump!

Yeah I'd say you may have over-did it on the diagnosis as I sure don't see any bacterial canker signs based on the photos. But can always do the stem test to find out for sure. First, symptoms aside, assuming you purchased your seeds from a reputable dealer the odds of infected seed are slim to none. Even traded seeds, if properly fermented and cleaned would be rarely infected. Second, when it comes down to disease vs. unfavorable growing conditions being the cause of symptoms, the odds always favor poor growing conditions as the cause 9 times out of 10. I see some minor leaf miner damage (2nd pic) and the rest appears to just be environmental - windburn, sun scald, some spray drift perhaps, too much water at some point, some nutrient deficiency, salt build up in the soil, etc. are all possibilities. Had any hail or hard rain? Can't comment on the pic with the concrete block in it as can't tell if that is in the ground or a pot or what's with the string. Personally if they were mine I'd just remove all the affected foliage and assuming they are planted properly I re-evaluate my watering and feeding program and monitor the plants for improvement. Then, if your weather has been cool and especially wet this spring as mine has, I'd plan to start a fungicide spraying program ASAP. All that said and knowing that hybrids are just as susceptible to environmental/poor growing conditions damage as open pollinated varieties then hybrids would be the way to go for you if only to increase your confidence in the plants. Consider the following: Rutgers (stabilized old hybrid), Arkansas Traveler, Porter, Celebrity', Big Boy, Homestead as all are proven to do well in your climate. You might also check in with the folks on the Texas Gardening forum for recommendations for varieties. Hope this helps. Dave

I ordered from Vaughn nursery last year. Out of 10 trees 9 leafed out and grew. The trees were smaller but after shipping cost about $10 to 12 a tree. They have a limited supply this year due to crop failure. Shipping is about $30. I also ordered this year from Legg Creek Farm but have not received order yet. They are from Texas. Higher cost but good reputation is Just Fruits and Exotics in Florida and Bay Laurel in California. Chestnut Hills tree farm also seems to be a good place for about $20 a tree plus $20 postage total. I have a La Feliciana peach that has done well that you can find in most places that sell fruit trees. I always check at http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/ to check on the online companies. Be careful about zones because a zone covers alot of area. Chill hours are a better reference but says nothing about disease resistance. I try to get trees from Texas A&M, LSU, and Florida since they have similar disease pressure. I get a range of chill hours between 350 to 750 chill hours. I also have some with 100 to 200 but they are in pots and I can bring them under the carport if there is some late frost.