Fall Tree Planting

I'm looking forward to my fall tree planting. After the National Arbor Day Foundation receives my annual membership dues, they'll send me ten small (6 to 12-inch tall) River Birch trees, I'm guessing the Heritage River Birch variety, which grows in my zone. This tree (rather than the white peeling trunk, as with the common birch) has reddish brown bark that also peels off. It's an extremely fast grower, and I'm eager to get started so I can post photos of their progress.

I plan to plant seven of the trees in a small forest on the east side of my house, where I also have one large Raywood Ash and half a dozen Redbuds. I'll plant three on the west side where I also have a smaller Raywood Ash, one Hybrid Poplar, and two "mystery" trees that just popped up in a flower bed and are now about five feet tall. (I think they might be mulberries, a popular tree in the area, that a bird brought in.)

So far, my Arbor Day hazelnut bushes are struggling. They seem to be very sensitive to water....too much or too little, and I haven't yet acquired the secret to the right amount. Two of them are still alive (I think) and one looks as though it might be ready to send out a leaf.....I've been waiting since spring for a leaf. Let's hope I see signs of life and a leaf before it's time for them to go dormant for the winter. I talk to them every day, encouraging them, nay, actually daring them to show me a leaf. We'll see if they're listening.