Hi Cooks, Thanks, this article you referenced provides helpful information. The following section in the article has two incorrect words, the words routing should be replaced with the word routine. How to prevent African Violets from suckering? Ensure basic routing care of African Violets to prevent suckering. Keep the plants watered, fertilized and repotted in fresh soil and suckers will not form. Many times, if the suckers are continually removed from the plant, this will also prevent future suckering. Routing grooming of the African Violet plant can ensure that it maintains good crown growth and breaks the habit of suckering. The article states at the end that if a plant has too many large suckers, it is best to get rid of it and replace it. Because the plant is a living organism, it might be kinder to the plant to take leaves to start new plants and allow the parent plant to live. It is also possible to remove larger crowns and restart them so that the original plant may survive and have a second chance. If removing crowns results in a long neck, this can be potted down. This is also good practice for those new to the growing and care of AFs. Joanne

Not really sure Sengyan You have a difficult time to this because you have one larger mother root feeding it! How far away is it from the trunk? I was just thinking,.. leave it alone and graft on it, they can grow very close together, even a foot is fine!...Our trees don't grow huge anyway and you can always cut it down low. But...if you are thinking of moveing anyway, this is what I would do. Cut about 2/3 of the root with a saw the first year, [spring] the root leading to it from the main trunk, about a foot away from the sucker, also, cut the root going away from the sucker all the way. Then in another year cut completely thru. Konrad

Both have to be a suckering type. Many lilacs are now sold that do not sucker and there is not much you can do to make them do so. The common lilac types will sucker with impunity and there would be no need to remove the grass/sod. Do you know what kind of roses and lilacs you have? I would not use a vegetation killer so close to the shrubs. Too much chance of injury to the 'good guys'. Could try digging out the sod around them, replacing the sod with a good soil and then mulch lightly with grass clippings or whatever you happen to have. If the lilacs are not the suckering kind, try to propogate them by bending a lower branch down and anchoring it firmly in the soil. Water it occasionally. It will root and next year you can separate it from the main plant. Jan

The rows of holes do sound like sapsuckers. Although related to woodpeckers, they are not going after insects in the tree, but the sap (hence the name sapsucker). You shouldn't have to worry about ants. I've seen a lot of sapsucker damage, but never heard of them going after conifers. I see them on aspen, birch, mountain-ash, and some small maples like amur maple. I would be surprised if they ate pitch from a conifer. Typically sapsuckers feed for a couple of weeks and move on. The small wounds they make can heal over, although if there are a lot of them - several rows - then there is the risk that sections of bark will die and more serious damage occurs. If the sapsuckers are actively feeding, they will return to the same tree several times a day. If so, it is time to try the beach balls.