That sounds much better. Yes planting one 35 feet away from your neighbor's house is very generous and considerate. I would pick a different tree for planting only 13 feet from my deck, but I might simply be reacting to the last 12 or so years when my two Shumard trees have caused so much litter on the sidewalk, which runs along side them about 10 feet to the West of them. Of course a Shumard tree the size you are planting will not start causing such problems on your deck for a many years after planting. Lots of people would by then have sold the house, moved elsewhere, and let the then occupants deal with the litter problems. It will take about 15 or a few more years for the tree to do a good job shading your two story house, but it should only take a couple years for the tree to become well established and begin to fill out enough to begin offering some afternoon shadow type shading at least for the lower windows and patio. My Shumard Oaks, once established grew about 3 feet during each spring and fall growing seasons. They were planted B&B at the size of 4 inch diameter trunks. This was about 26 years ago, when I let the nursery man plant them for me only 25 feet from my house. They are now about 30 feet tall and would have developed lower branches, which have already been spreading into my house; that is, if we had not kept them pruned up during their pyramidal stages of growth. If I had it to do over again, due to the litter these trees create, I would choose a different type of tree to plant in front to shade my house and that close to my front sidewalks. The sad thing now is that they look terrible after suffering so much, 2007 or 8 (I forget which year's) spring, ice damage. In the back yard, my same age Scarlet oak tree did not loose any canopy structure from that almost 4 day period of freezing rain and drizzle. Now, it is about 40 feet tall and spreads about 26 feet across. An interesting point is that I planted this Scarlet tree from a one gallon black nursery pot. At that time the tree was only about 1 foot tall, and I planted it near the same time I planted those then, 4 inch trunked B & B; currently damaged Shumard oaks. I also have a 15 year old Shumard oak tree, which I first dug as sprout from an acorn under those first mentioned Shumard oaks. This young sprout has now grown to be an about 18 to 20 feet tall tree, and its canopy currently spreads only about 10-12 feet across. I have kept it pruned it to maintain a clean trunk in the lower 1/3rd of its main leader height. It is growing in the northeast side yard on my residential corner lot, and has amazed me at how much better it handled that icing event I mentioned above. Not a single branch broke off this shumard tree. Of course since it was produced by my Shumards, I do not know what other oaks cultivar genetics might have affected the production of this tree's originating acorn. The tree looks like a shumard by its growth pattern, bud, and leaf shape, but it still could be encountering ice damage resitance, benefits from the genetics of a different cultivar of oak cross pollinating with my shumard oaks that year.

I wouldn't worry about toxicity from handling unless you have extremely sensitive skin. I pinch them back with bare hands and have never had a problem. Just make sure you don't get the sap in your eyes and even that's not terribly dangerous, just very uncomfortable. It will dilate your pupil. Of course don't ingest it but that goes for the majority of the ornamental plants including azaleas, lily of the valley, etc as all are toxic. If your plants have enough space between them and are growing well you can leave them. They'll die back in the winter and return from the roots in the spring if you are in zone 7b or warmer. Give them a good layer of mulch over the winter. If you are in 7a or cooler you can dig them up and allow them to go dormant in a cool dark area that stays above freezing like a garage. You can also take cuttings before the first frost to start new plants.

Thanks y'all The rule is vegetation cannot come over the curb. Bottom line. I started with the plants further back, BUUUUT they do reach for the sun and ended up where they are really happy in bazing hot sun with a passiflora carulea and the china rose Mutablis behind them. To edge the moonflowers would mean me out there cutting off the brances with buds all summer. I've dug out the roots of the older plants, there will be younger plants from remaining seeds. But as sad as it makes me, I'll dig them out. I always give some away, so hopefully I'll find more homes for them. New neighbor really enjoys the view but the city program is simply put complaint driven. To keep her from complaining I could offer NOT to complain that her new section of fence that is 10 ft tall is out of code or I could offer NOT to turn her in for allowing her yard crew to leave bags of trash out a day or two before trash day. Code says they can only be out at 7pm day before. But I really don't want to engage in that. Sooo, I see zebra grass and sedum in my future and Moon flower give away too. I moved the big old roots into the back yard. I guess it's time to change the show. grateful for all the great ideas! cynthia

Carol, como estas, amigo? There should be an upside down question mark at the beginning of that sentence. Many moons ago, I could speak some Spanish, but, sadly that language has slowly disappeared from my aged brain. You need people to converse with who are fluent to keep up your skills, which I didn't have, though if I had some get up and go, I might enjoy practicing a little Spanish even now. Clare knows some Spanish, but I think she'd run from me if wanted to practice. And my friend, Nancy, spent several months with a Central American family, trying to hone her Spanish skills. She does not have good facility for language, but was always trying to learn them, partly because she traveled everywhere. I really admired her efforts, but sadly, Italian and French were a bust, too. I don't think she'd like to practice Spanish with me, either. Jennifer I don't know anything about Francis' growth habits, but if those were two Austins planted together that closely in my garden, SW Idaho, zone 7, they would eat each other alive, except maybe, Munstead Wood. Mine have gotten quite large but are kind to their mutual neighbor, Twilight Zone. The Meilland roses I grow are pretty big, too, but I don't grow many. I love them, though. Kitty, do you parlez with Anastasia? Diane