The tree(s) may develop root problems and like someone told you they can potentially fall over or not have any foliage on that side or have a poor appearance. The trees will probably look fine for a few years until that mesh becomes a problem. Italian cypress and related species are drought tolerant but you can't expect them to be drought tolerant without a well developed root system. There may be natural obstacles like rocks but this isn't a natural obstacle and don't bet on it biodegrading in the soil. By the time that happens, we'll all be long gone. I'm not surprised the nurseries tell you the trees will be fine because they're trying to sell you the trees and will say whatever it takes. The people onthe internet like myself really don't know what you're trying to do because we can't see the mesh or really understand what you're talking about. But what I can say with certainty is nature doesn't always find a way.

Thank you for your responses, though I do find ken_adrian's rather incoherent and confusing! I did of course post to the rose forum. I've been working with roses for more than 15 years now, and ,believe me, in my climate many,many of them really do prefer a bit of shade. My garden is blessed by the presence of several mature oak trees already, but too few in the area that recieves the worst of the afternoon sun. The thing is,when "they" say that roses require full sun,they are talking about a much milder climate than mine,like England or something.A rose that is listed as "shade tolerant" for the English climate would probably do best in all-day dappled shade in mine, with perhaps only a bit of direct morning sun! Ideally, I'd provide shade from the mid-day sun for ALL my roses, but that would entail planting a tree right in the middle of the rose beds,which really would be too much competition for roots. Luckily Sara did seem to realize that my question was about spacing, not about shade tolerance of roses.I'm mainly concerned about the root competition issue. What precise spacing do you use, Sara,especially in the sense of distance between a tree and roses? because whereas I've planted roses more or less along the drip line of my established oaks,this is a different issue. Water is very scarce-my established plants must rely on rainfall alone and what I can harvest, so I am indeed "hauling buckets"! bart

mother earth involves soil ... pots use potting media ... or medium ... soil is soil.. and you have to deal with your soil ... we can guide.. but you have to figure it out ... media can be designed for specific applications.. to hold or shed as much water as you want ... e.g. hosta like to be nearly drowned... so they use a lot of peat .. conifers like dry feet .... and you would use a lot of bark or wood chips or perlite .... and very little peat [80/20] how to water.... in your soil in your yard is for you to figure out ... you have to supply water to the roots you disturbed.. that means at the root level ... water .. then insert finger or small trowel ... and see if there is anything down at the roots ....once you get the water down there... do not water again until it is dry down there .... use finger or shovel ... you have to figure it out ... in my sand... pure mineral sand .... i might water once a month.. if there is any decent rain ... only my finger will tell ... but i have 100% drainage .... maybe every 2 weeks in the heat of summer ... maybe once a week in drought and heat .... there is never standing water in sand a lot of peeps have to deal with clay ... dig a 15 gal cauldron .. fill it with water.. and in bad clay.. you might come back a month later.. and it will still be full of water... that is how they make ponds up here .... dig hole in sand.. line with clay .... unless you buy a swamp plant.. a conifer will not like that much water.. and there are special ways to plant in clay ... anyway .... to turn your thumb green.. insert it into the soil.. until you begin to understand how water moves in and through it .... the more you learn about it.. the happier you garden will be .... GOOD LUCK!!! ken

This is a very typical problem and has come up a lot lately. I think this type of deterioration of a newly installed tree is most often a product of having a poorly grown product and /or having it improperly installed. Mulching a newly planted tree is really important. But you need to do it right. More often the worst possible practice is used. A wide (several feet) circular mound of mulch should be built around the planting area to try to create a well around the rootball so that more water will penetrate around the roots - before it drains away. That's a good idea in my opinion. But the exact opposite is more commonly used. There is no reason to mound up mulch right up to the trunk, like a giant anthill. I see landscapers do this all the time. I cannot imagine what purpose it serves. In fact, it's probably much, much worse than not mulching at all. Mulches (or soil) shouldn't ever touch the trunk of a tree!! They defintely should not touch 12 inches of trunk in a weird volcano shape. Tree trunks are not supposed to be suffocated or wet. That shold be common sense. Trees do not grow like that in nature. Trees should be installed so that you can see the trunk flare out right at the soil line. When fresh bark (the most common mulch) dries, it sheds water, it certainly doesn't direct it to the roots of the newly planted tree. A volcano of mulch will only keep water from getting where a newly planted tree's roots are. When I see trees mulched this way in shopping center parking lots, I'll sometimes kick the mulch away into the street to help out the idiot landscape company and prevent the needless death of a tree. No "professional" (for money) landscape work in my area is ever done "professionally" (in a responsible, workmanlike manner according to certain standards). People forget the word "profressional" is supposed to imply that certain standards are observed. When neighbors ask me about good nurseries or landscapers I can't tell them anything. No one does better work here than I do in my spare time as a hobby. I've said it before - but growing plants is a race to the bottom, lowest common denominator business -- and planting and selling them is too often the province of illegal immigrants who don't speak English, more less know the best practices of their trade. I'm not disparaging people who are just trying to earn an honest buck - but just pointing out they generally don't do their job well. What's worse is that people look to nurseries and landscape companies for advice - and both generally have very low standards and knowledge - at least at the employee level. Just my opinion.