I can find quite a bit of the wild stuff, but certainly couldn't afford to send that much. Chicory, plantain, fireweed, Purslane, wood sorrel, Solomon's seal (false?), some type of gooseberry (wild ones, when I go to Idaho) Jerusalem artichoke, red alder, skunk cabbage--maybe, kinnikinnick, MAYBE serviceberry, wild ginger (certainly not 40 of them, though), possibly Oregon grape, bedstraw, burdock, not sure on monkeyflower, cascara, snowberry, all heal, yarrow, yellow violets, Virginia creeper, maybe nuphar polysepalus, wild strawberries (fragaria virginiana and chiloensis).

Argh, that sounds frustrating. My experience with grey birch is that they literally grow like (beautiful) weeds in a natural setting. The clump near our back pasture produces so many seedlings my husband has to mow to keep them down. It doesn't seem to have any pests. A white birch I planted died within a year, however. I haven't had much luck planting natives, personally. Maybe they're persnickity about soil ph or something. I usually content myself with growing a named cultivar (is that the word?) of a native species. Selective breeding seems to produce sturdier plants. Re: the serviceberry, I lost an expensive tree-form on recently. It had taken me ages to find a pair, and then one of them died. And the remaining one doesn't look too good. The magnolia, however, is doing great.

TZ, figs can be risky in zone 7 unless they are close to a house--which probably matches the hardiness results with Trachys in Zone 7. Figs are quite cold sensitive for a deciduous tree (yes, I realize there are tropical deciduous trees, but still). I would not suggest you plant either a Southern Magnolia or a fig too near your house though. Fig roots can do damage to the structure of your house and magnolias are huge trees. I made this mistake years ago. I planted a grandiflora a few feet from the house. --Thinking at the time, the building would help them survive and that they needed this. Wrong on two counts. M. grandiflora will THRIVE in Eastern Zones 6B+ and GROW--they are not the fastest growers (especially for the first three years after planting), but they will inexorably infringe on your house. I felt really bad when that first magnolia had to be removed. So too, the are shallow rooted (not sure if the roots themselves would be a problem). There are more Dwarf varieties (Little Gem), but not sure of long term sustainability too close to a house. Eventually, I bought the proverbial farm and now made good on that cut down Magnolia--I planted over a dozen. Current inventory of cultivars: Brackens Brown--1 Victoria--2 Edith Bogue--3 Little Gem--4 Majestic Beauty--1 Green Giant--1 Teddy Bear--2 PS., Biggest problems with the Magnolias in our area is snow load--esp. as our snows are wet and very HEAVY. Some cultivars seem completely undamaged by heavy snow and ice accumulation, some snap much more easily.

Embothrium, yes, it is certainly pretty and has the shape I need, though other pictures of it I searched online also show that it can have multiple trunks. Problem is it would overwhelm the space in no time and has a pretty fast rate of growth. I am thinking of returning the Jane shrub because the rate of growth, according to the National Arboretum, is only a foot a year. I'm in my 60s now. I'd like to be able to appreciate a 'tree' now. I also don't like the big leaves. They are pretty shaped but I can just see a messy cleanup in the future. I have too much work as it is. The last thing I need is more. I would really like a lacy type tree with small leaves that allows diffused light to filter into my garden (not a shade tree), that doesn't put out seed or fruit (fruit, because of the fireblight problem). I was tending towards the flowering plum but that is also susceptible according to my cooperative extension. There is a business across the street that has over a dozen flowering pear trees and every one of them has severe fireblight. Since they are not going to take down their trees anytime soon (it would probably cost them a fortune to do so) it's best that I don't plant anything that is susceptible to that disease. I also do not want a tree that is taller than 20' X 20'. 20' wide would be pushing the limits. Any suggestions?