Woody, I've had to face the same sort of issues with removal of a large anchor tree in both my own garden, and also design clients' gardens, and prefer to think of it as an opportunity rather than a loss. For what it is worth, I think there is usually more design impact if you replace with a group of the same variety to give more continuity, rather than one of this, one of that. It is also easier to get the garden looking good if you don't try to force the shade requiring perennials to fit into the sunnier garden, I'd move the Hostas, etc if you have room elsewhere, and treat the new sunny beds as an opportunity for sun perennials/annuals until you have shade there again. Laws regarding permits to take down large trees vary from town to town here in the San Francisco Bay Area, in almost all towns here locally, our native Coast Live Oak is the most protected, here in my town of Berkeley, other species do not require permits to remove, whereas in nearby Oakland, anything of size to be removed requires a permit, even if a weed species such as Eucalyptus globulus, or old dying giants such as Monterey Cypress or Monterey Pines. I do work in a lot of gardens with 80 to 100 year old Monterey Pines and Cypress trees, that are reaching the end of their life spans and are in declining health and more risk of dropping limbs or falling completely. I love the appearance and skyline aspects, but tend to be pragmatic in generally recommending removal before they do damage. We have an advantage in our California climate that new trees, depending on the species selected, can get height and size rather quickly. In one Alameda town garden right on the bay, I replaced a 100 foot tall by 50 foot diameter Pinus radiata with a grouping of 5-15 gallon saplings of the Lemon Gum Eucalyptus. Just 5 years later, these Euc's are already nearly 40 foot tall and looking beautiful as a replacement for the pine, and I have also removed the two smallest to retain the best 3 trees.

There are several things you can do as a preventative measure for fireblight. For starters, look for any fireblight cancers on your trees. Anywhere there is any oozing, you need to remove the cancers and discard properly, as in the trash in a sealed lastic bag. Second, you can use Serenade on your trees to establish healthy bacteria cultures - it's like Yoghurt establishing healthy bacteria in your digestive system. The bacteria cultures in Serenade are really good for stimulating the plant immune systems as well. Third, there are sprays available that target fireblight in the Spring when the trees are blooming. If it's raining or drizzling during bloom time, you need to spray the blossoms every 3 to 7 days. I forget the name of the new fireblight spray, it's also a type of bacteria that occupies the entry point for fireblight bacteria and as such it keeps the fireblight bacteria from entering. But it needs to be present already before the arrival of fireblight. I live in a mild climate and our Fall apple bloom is underway on the low chill varieties, and we have a massive tropical storm heading our way so I will be spraying in the next couple of days.

ghost, I've only had the tree for about a month or so, and while it's been VERY warm, it's not like full summer either, so I can't say that I "know". However, crabapples as a whole are VERY adaptable, with a very broad climate tolerance. I assume that you have crabapples in your area already. Assuming that is correct, then it would probable be just fine. You might look at Texas A&M's for more specific info on crabapples in SE Texas. knorad, Those are freaking fantastic. If they have been disease resistant, then you have some possible winners as far as commercial introduction goes. the last one is especially eye catching to me. Most new tree selections are developed in the same method as what your doing. Grow thousands, select the very best for further testing. Thank you very much for sharing those pictures. To everyone, feel free to post any nice crabapple pics in this thread if you like. I started this thread to share my experiences with a new cultivar, but no reason it include contributions from others, and about other crabapples. Arktrees

Thanks to everyone for the feedback. I'm just not ambitious and disciplined enough to maintain that many fruit trees on the parking strips, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the 'Royal Raindrops' crabapples will be approved. I may just plant one Crape Myrtle closer to the south side of the house to get more reflected heat. Thanks gardengal for the info on the 'Royal Raindrops' leaf color. I was hoping it would be more green. Our neighbors have two huge purple-leaf plums, and I wasn't that excited about that many purple-leafed trees around the house. I actually attended Arthur Lee Jacobson's talk at the NW Flower and Garden Show this year. He recommended Malus Tschonoskii crabapples, but WSU put it on their Discard list due to "ornamental only for its narrowly upright form, no showy flowers or fruit". I really want dark-pink spring flowers. Gardengal, do you know how showy the spring flowers are on the 'Royal Raindrops' you planted for your client? Also, Arthur Lee Jacobson doesn't have any info on the 'Royal Raindrops' since they're so new, but Urban Forest Nursery, which specializes in street and landscape trees, recommends it. Urban Forest Nursery Royal Raindrops Flowering Crab profile