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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

You should have applied the most important insect spray of the year — dormant oil sprays — during the winter. Why then? Because that’s when insects susceptible to these sprays are most vulnerable. Why ...

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 ...

Could you let me know the latest sasanqua shrubs can be trimmed to assure blooms? I thought till the end of July, like azaleas, but I’m not sure. — Jeanne Garman Major pruning to sasanquas (Camellia ...

Question. Two of my camellias are affected by this white powdery infection, which occurs every year on the foliage of primarily the branches closest to the ground. What are your suggestions for ...

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 ...

Camellias were almost at their peak of blooms a few weeks ago and then frigid temperatures ended our spring flower show. With a closer examination of the damaged blooms, other problems with the ...

Many people have a potted citrus plant or two that they keep indoors during the winter and move outdoors for the summer. It may be one of those dwarf trees that produce full-sized fruit. Or it could ...

There are many types of scale insects that potentially can become a pest on a number of landscape plants in North Florida. But the home gardener may not recognize these small-scale critters as insects ...

Q We moved to Arkansas in February 2020 from Indiana. We are learning about the various plants in our yard. I believe this is a hibiscus bush with a white Styrofoam-like growth on it. What is it and ...