Holly Hedge Dieback: Scale Insects Causing Sooty Mold

5-year holly border: 5 large bushes died this winter; others stressed, new growth brown/black, tips withered. Leaves otherwise green. Diagnosis: Scale Blackened foliage = sooty mold on honeydew from scale. Look for small

Replanting Weeping Cherry After Borers: Soil Treatment and Care

Lost weeping cherry to borers; wants to replant same spot with pre-treatment. No Soil Pre-Treatment Needed Borers attack stressed trees. Once dead tree removed, borers gone. Just keep new tree healthy. Planting Steps Ho

White Frothy Substance on Pine: Spittlebugs

White soft sticky substance on lower branches/needles of 15-ft pine. Identification: Pine Spittlebug Nymphs cover themselves in frothy spittle for protection. Adults feed without spittle, eject sap mist. Heavy infestatio

Honeysuckle Destroyed by Caterpillars: Hand-Pick or Bt

Honeysuckle covered in silvery eggs and tiny caterpillars in rolled leaves (green and white). Insect ID First Bag samples, take to nursery for ID. Many caterpillars are temporary leaf-feeders. Controls Dipel/Thuricide (

Variegated Holly Losing Lower Leaves: Scale and Chlorotic Shoots

25-year variegated holly: lower leaves drop, branch tips turn black. Top healthy. Two cream-colored sections. Problem 1: Scale Black sooty tips = honeydew from scale. Look for bumps on stems/leaves. Spray horticultural o

Ligustrum Trunk Decay: Heart Rot, Not Insects

Old Ligustrum: main trunk and branches being eaten to sawdust. No bugs, tunnels, frass, fungus. Bug man ruled out termites. Foliage green, new growth, flowered. One trunk half gone. Diagnosis: Heart Rot Decay Living tiss

Snake Plant Round Beige Spots: Scale Insects

Snake plant in ceramic pot, indirect sun, monthly watering. Round beige spots like fingernail gouges, spreading stem to stem. Diagnosis: Scale Sap-sucking insects. Early catch = easy control. Treatment Spray with soapy

What Scale Looks Like on Orange Star Plant

Easter gift Orange Star plant; instructions warn of scale. Owner doesnt know what it looks like. Identification Scale = immobile bumps under hard shell (white, brown, black). Cluster on growing tips, leaf joints, undersi

Tentworms on Weeping Cherry: Spray Spinosad on Leaves and Trunk

How to stop worms crawling up cherry tree trunk. Best Control: Spinosad Spray Spinosad (organic) on leaves around tents (worms dont feed inside webs) and on trunk to stop climbing and prevent borers. Kills feeders fast,

Jasmine Leaf Damage and White Blobs: Grasshoppers/Slugs and Mealybugs

Naples FL jasmine: holes in leaves, white moist blobs on leaves/stems. Two Problems Holes on edges: Grasshoppers. Holes in center: Snails/slugs. White blobs: Mealybugs (soft scale). Organic Control Insecticidal soap o

Hackberry Leaf Curl and Dieback: Drought, Borers, Scale, or Herbicide?

Hackberries of various sizes show leaf curl, dieback (10 trunk 90% loss, 25 trunk 1%, 0.5 trunk 50%). Scale present but county agent said not causal. Late cold snap. Herbicide sprayer drove by (¼ mile away). Possible Cau

Rose of Sharon Sticky Residue: Aphids or Scale

Sticky droplets on siding/windows near two Rose of Sharon trees; residue on branches. Not all trees affected. Cause: Sucking Insects Aphids or scale secrete honeydew. Control insects to stop honeydew. Solution Apply Baye

Tulip Tree Dripping Sap: Honeydew from Insects

Two 40+ yr tulip trees drip slimy sap like rain; no blooms this year. Likely: Honeydew Sticky, shiny droplets on cars/furniture = honeydew from sap-feeding insects (aphids, scale). Insects rarely kill large trees. Option

Snake Plant (Mother-in-Law's Tongue) Collapsing: Scale or Fungus

10-year, 6-ft snake plant: spears separate from shriveled roots. Insecticidal soap didnt help. Dual Approach Spray thoroughly with horticultural oil (for scale) + Neem (for fungus/mites). Can mix. Repeat several times.

Granny Smith Apple: Cedar-Apple Rust, Not Scab

Orange spots on leaves turning brown; small apples dropping; some fruit with brown spots, odd shapes. Diagnosis: Cedar-Apple Rust Orange leaf spots = classic cedar-apple rust (requires juniper/cedar alternate host). Appl

Crabapple Trunk Damage and Dead Top Branches: Borer Suspected

7-year-old crabapple in Vermont blooms well, leaves healthy, but trunk has bark damage and top branches dead for first time. Likely: Borer Insects Boring insects drill into bark; may see clear sap gum. They disrupt vascu

Sticky Leaves on Schefflera and Fig Bonsai: Scale Insects

Bonsai enthusiast sees sticky substance on fig bonsai after losing a schefflera to same issue. No visible insects found. Diagnosis: Scale (Invisible) Sticky honeydew is excreted by scale/aphids. Even if unseen, treat as

Pin Oak Decay from Nails and Roofing Tar: No Magic Fix

30–40 yr pin oak nailed for yard sale 2 yrs ago; rot from 10 ft down. Roofing tar applied 1 yr ago failed. Soggy wood, bugs. Cleaned out 3–4 inches deep. Reality Check Internal decay from wound entry is progressive and i

Weeping Redbud Transplant Shock: Water Deeply and Often

Oklahoma clay soil; 4-ft weeping redbud planted by nursery, leaves brown and shriveled in 2 weeks. Fix: Massive Watering Tree needs lots of water to establish. Water every other day at medium drip for 15–30 min, soaking

Tomato Leaf Spots: Flea Beetle Damage, Not Disease

Heirloom tomato seedlings in pots have pinpoint spots that enlarge and kill leaf tissue; new leaves clean. Nearby Better Boys unaffected. Diagnosis: Insect Feeding Spots show chewing damage—likely flea beetles (tiny blac