QUESTION: I would like to move an established maple from my backyard to my front yard this winter. The tree is about 3 to 4 inches in diameter and stands about 25 feet tall. I have never done this before but think I understand the basic steps and can do it myself. Do you think this is a good idea? I'd hate to lose this tree.ANSWER: I don't think it's a good idea for you to attempt to move this tree yourself, even with the aid of a few strong pals. The root ball will be very large, very heavy and difficult to pick up. Chances of breakage are high. It is not like moving furniture.Professional tree companies do this work very well. They have the equipment and technique to make the move in a way that will retain the most roots and give the tree an excellent chance for a good adjustment and a long life. A certified arborist also will look over the canopy of the tree and possibly recommend some strategic pruning that will strengthen your valued tree.

QUESTION: Several years ago, I got a little English ivy. Well, I didn't pay much attention to it for a few years. This spring and summer, it took off with a vengeance and has choked out some of the nicer, flowering perennials as well as taking water needed by other plants. I have been tearing out this ivy, only to find out that it has put down deep roots in places I can't get to. Although I am reluctant to use a chemical, is there an herbicide I can use on these roots or should I wait until new leaves show up next spring?ANSWER: I feel your pain. It took me two years to wrestle into submission the English ivy that I by mistake allowed to grow into a natural area. Needless to say, it paid no attention to the boundary I had in mind and ran rampant. After my experience, I would only have it in a hanging basket, where it looks quite nice and cannot escape.Get the herbicide RoundUp in the strength that states on the label it works against woody vines such as kudzu. You will also need a sponge brush and some throwaway plastic gloves. Make a new cut on the stem ends of the ivy and paint the undiluted herbicide onto it. The stem end must be freshly cut. The herbicide will move into the roots, where the deadly action is desired. This may require another application in the spring. This is a method of using an herbicide in minimum amounts and without risk to adjacent plants.

QUESTION: We planted three pumpkin mounds in early summer, and all three hills produced abundant vines and foliage with lots of blossoms. As the summer progressed the vines started to look tired and on their way out with nary a pumpkin produced. They get plenty of sun and we've been diligent about watering, though not too much. They share their space with some sunflowers that have done splendidly. Did the birds and bees not do their part?ANSWER: The honeybees did not do their job in pollinating the flowers because they simply weren't around to do the job. They are in very short supply thanks to a number of ailments.Like squash, the pumpkins required something to move pollen from the male flowers to the female flowers that develop into full-size pumpkins.If you didn't see honeybees or bumblebees working on those flowers this summer, that is why you have no pumpkins to harvest this fall. Hand pollination, by which gardeners use a cotton swab to move the pollen from male to female flowers, was an option, but the time has passed, since your vines are now on the way out.