Walking on the St. John’s Lutheran Church campus a few weeks ago, I noticed a recently planted crape myrtle that didn’t appear to have its normal spring color or vigor. Upon closer inspection, I ...

Dear Neil: How can I find someone qualified to tell me if a very large tree needs to be taken down? I’ve gotten conflicting comments. You need a Certified Arborist. He or she will be a member of the ...

My crape myrtle has white spots on the bark and a lot of black leaves. What is going on? OS What you are describing are classic symptoms of crape myrtle bark scale (Acanthococcus lagerstroemiae).

It first showed up in Texas in 2004 and made its way across the Gulf states. Now, crape myrtle bark scale can be found as far west as New Mexico, as far north as Kansas and as far east as Virginia. It ...

There's good news and bad news at Trident Technical College: we now have crape myrtle scale. The good news is horticulture students get firsthand exposure to this invasive pest. The bad news is we ...

Tonya Ashworth shows how to square foot garden and Mr. D. demonstrates a soil drench. This week on The Family Plot: Gardening in the Mid-South, garden expert Tonya Ashworth talks about the basics of ...

When I get multiple calls on a pest in a small time period, there is usually a decent-sized issue. This past week has been one that I have not enjoyed having to identify, because it means there is a ...

WASHINGTON — Crape Myrtle trees are found all over the DMV. They boast beautiful blooms and are a staple of many landscapes. But little white critters, called bark scale, are threatening the trees.

We see it all in the Plant Clinic, and this summer we’ve been seeing a lot of Acanthococcus lagerstroemiae or crapemyrtle bark scale. This invasive insect from southeast Asia first appeared in the ...