“I want to get rid of mealybugs on my 20-year-old ponytail palms. Is there any way to save the plants?” asks Birds & Blooms reader Deborah McCullough of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Horticultural ...

I think I diagnosed the white material on the bark of my crapemyrtle as scale. There’s also black stuff on the bark that won’t come off. What can I do? You have a few options, ranging from tolerance ...

Scale insect problems are common this time of year throughout the Lowcountry. It is not surprising since this group of small immobile insects comprises over 18 genera, with thousands of species ...

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 ...

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 have white spots that turn to a blackish mold on my crape myrtles. What is it and how do I get rid of it? Tricia, Tulsa. We addressed this issue in this column last year, but some of the ...

The University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service last year began urging homeowners to keep an eye out for a new pest. The crape myrtle bark scale was beginning to attack trees in Pulaski ...

Q: I have a prickly pear with an increasing number of chalky-white splotches forming on the pads. Is this a fungus? Can it be treated? Should I just get rid of the plant? (It isn’t very big). A: What ...