At this point, they feel that having dug down eight feet below the old trees, they did get below the poison that killed them. They took all that dirt to the landfill, put in a drainage system, removed all the poisoned water nearby and made sure—best they could—that other water in the area that would work its way over wasn't poisoned, too.
Still, one of the replacement trees died. And now they're nurturing the replacement for a replacement.
"The tree went in in July," said Auburn horticulture professor Dr. Gary Keever, who has been used heavily as an adviser throughout the ordeal.