Oystershell scale is a very secretive little insect that usually goes unnoticed. But despite it’s tiny size, this insect can cause significant damage in trees or shrubs. Some gardeners aren’t even ...

We enjoy magnolia trees for their beautiful early spring flowers, but in summer they sometimes get downright ugly. Gardeners may notice a fuzzy black coating on branches or a sticky glaze that ...

Earlier this week, one of my neighbors told me that her Meyer lemon tree has had a bad infestation of scale insects for several years and that all of her attempts to eradicate the pests had failed. I ...

Many gardeners, as well as the horticulturists at the Chicago Botanic Garden, had issues with magnolia scale last year, and it’s a pest to watch closely for in 2025. The Garden’s plant health care ...

Scale insects can infest and damage many of the plants we grow in our landscapes and indoors. They feed on the sap of plants, and a large enough population can weaken a plant, damage it or even kill ...

I got an email with some pictures a few years ago asking me about magnolia scale, which is a topic I have written about for a number of years. I feel confident the insect was magnolia scale. The ...

Q: Everything under one of my large potted plants on the patio is turning black. What isn’t black is sticky. What is wrong with this plant? A: From the pictures you sent me, we know that the black ...

Q: This is a picture of our dogwood tree with white growths on it. Your help is appreciated. A: Your dogwood tree has a healthy case of scale insects. Scale insects attach themselves to the host plant ...

Q: Why are the trunks of my crape myrtles turning black? They look rather unsightly. Mine aren't the only ones doing this -- many in our neighborhood look the same. Is it a disease? Is it going to ...

Crape myrtles, an ornamental tree popular in landscapes throughout the state of Delaware, are prized for their beauty, exfoliating bark in shades of silver and cinnamon, and long-lasting flowers in a ...

Long Beach is home to 7,000 magnolia trees, but that number may shrink in the coming years, thanks to a pest known as the tuliptree scale. The insects, which favor plants in the magnolia family, suck ...