Thanks so much for all the help. I guess the area isn't really flooded most of the time. Neither tree will be located in the swale directly (that's a violation of the swale law or some such thing). There may be a couple days in which it stays particularly soggy and mushy with some visible surface water, but mored puddled than pond like. Most of the time it's just very damp. There can be some afternoons between July and September in which it almost qualifies as dry on the surface when it's really hot here. However, all yards drain to through mine, and with two water happy neighbors, there is always some moisture. I also have new neighbors since November, and I've no idea what their water habits will be. I did just lose a red maple sapling (Arbor Day twig - free with order) from that area. It broke in half this winter, and it's dead, dead, dead. I had considered putting the birch some place else, and recently decided to put it where the Maple was now that I realize just how moist that area stays, and that the other location does not get nearly the same water and drains much better. I expect I will go ahead with the Birch in site B, closer to the house and deck because I love the graceful look and interesting bark. The dappled shade it provides will be perfect, and the quick growth is appreciated. I'd rather put the slower growing, and potentially larger(? maybe denser is more accurate) cypress towards the rear of our property, more as a background tree. Thanks again. I really appreciate the feedback so quickly. I'm diligent in my research, but still lack confidence. Especially since the red maple worked out so poorly.

Hi again Ken ~ thank you for a frank statement that I'd rather face now than lament over later!!! I did do some digging & got quite a romatic feed on this, to be 40m tall in the "Forest of the Cedars of God." Even viewed a few pics in their ideal habitat w/ details of their needles & cones ~ too bad I found no dwarf cultivar ~ so can only wish for huh?!!! My friend did deliver this li'l 16" adorable thing in a decorative pot (meant for X-mas joy!) complete w/ tag & sensible instructions (that may be a lie - marketing ploy)! *Will thrive outside in zones 5-11 etc etc Mature tree is 15ft w/ 3ft girth.* That I could deal with if true! TIA again! BTW The baby D Alberta Spruce I was babying too much (i was told in another threat) went out for a breather in our 59deg-sunny day 3/15/13 but was forgotten out, ovr-nite & back in the garage only early this AM ~ sigh!

Very outdated thread but since it has been revived, some clarifications are in order. While the landscapers were definitely bumbling about with the care and storage of the trees after delivery and poor planting techniques, there is really no concern about the spacing. In fact. I'd say the comments about them being too close are coming from those with no experience in planting and maintaining a Leylandii hedge. " they would eventually choke each other out. " No, they won't!! Recommended spacing of Leyland cypress for a solid hedge is 3' to 6'. Lived next door to one for 10+ years with a 3' o.c. spacing and the trees did perfectly well and are still doing well in the 8 years or so since I moved. btw, the continuing slams against Leylands are typically unfounded. Yes, they do not fair well in all parts of the country and they are often grown rather haphazardly by less scrupulous growers/sellers but there is nothing inherently wrong with the tree itself. It does grow fast and it does grow large but can be maintained as a very tidy hedge at any height you want.

The main problem with rootbound woody stock is toppling some years later after the top gets heavy enough for the specimen to pivot over on its inadequate anchorage, when additionally weighed down by snow or being pressed against by high winds. I've had shrubs fall over in snow about 25 years after planting, turn out to have small, tight turnip-like root crowns due to having spent too long in 4" pots at the production facility. Sometimes also a girdling main root will actually pinch off part of the top, resulting in deterioration and death of the part above the root. Watering issues with recently planted trees and shrubs are due to textural differences between the field soil or potting medium on the roots and the soil around them - this is one reason why bare-rooting at planting time has become recommended in later years. Plants with intact rootballs or root masses surrounded by soil of a significantly different texture often have moisture wicked away during dry conditions if the soil around the plant is of a finer texture - as will very often be the case when the plant is in coarse potting soil, surrounded by an unmodified native soil - or may instead attract water, become sodden if placed in a heavy and wet soil. Liberal amending of planting hole backfill merely enlarges the area of impacted water movement that the plant has to survive and root across. Amending of an entire bed of soil around the plant does push the zone of interaction with unamended soil out farther but this altering of soil texture lasts only until the amendments decompose - not long enough for long term plantings like those made using woody plants. Amending with mineral materials like sand avoids the problem of decomposition of organic soil amendments, but if a soil does not already have a fairly high percentage of sand an enormous amount may have to be added before the desired level of improvement is seen. Resulting in the height and volume of the bed exceeding the space. Also if too much sand is added a droughty and leaching (poor) soil may be produced.