plant insects

QuestionEvery spring I plant in pots all of my annuals, the pots I put in my screened porch start dying off in about two weeks, plant by plant...when i shake the plant, little bugs come flying out....they spread to

yellow plum tree problem

QuestionHi. I have a yellow (fruit) plum tree. It is about 8 yrs old and produces some fruit. Every spring some of the branches and leaves appear to die and then the affected limbs begin dripping s

Yellow Hookneck Squash

QuestionFor the 2nd year my squash, after it matures & is producing fruit, starts to wither & die.The problem is caused by rotting of the vine just inches from the roots. The rotted length is just an inch or two lon

Cinch bugs

QuestionI read an answer to Bill, (email 9/13) and the description sounds very much like Cinch bug egg sacs. My magnolia tree has cottony, white spots on the bottom side on many of the lower branches. Ar

cleveland pear tree leaves

QuestionWe purchased a 10 ft Cleveland pear last year from a nursery. They planted it for us. The tree so far looks like it has miniature leaves on it and they are very sparse. It was planted last August and l

White & Brown Lumps on Trunk

Question Tulip Tree Growths Hello Dr Vann, I have a Tulip Tree in my garden, about 8 years old. Last week I noticed these blobs on the trunk. After looking online I am not really sure whether they are scales, lice

tree insect

Question Tree Insects I have recently discovered some sort of insect nesting in two large trees in my yard. They clump together on the branches and the leaves have small hole and are starting to turn brown. &n

Crepe Myrtle trees

QuestionWe recently lost a bunch of Willow trees to Amarillo disease (probably spelling that wrong, sorry) We were thinking of replacing the areas with crepe myrtles.. we need to know if they are subjective to this

butterfly bush

QuestionLive in midwest. Planted butterfly bush maybe 6 - 8 weeks ago. Planted with osmocote. Up until yesterday, was growing beautifly. Looks like a colony of something or somethings has feasted o

Carrotwood, San Diego

QuestionOur Carrotwood has developed a white powder on many of its leaves. Is this going to be harmful to the tree? I thought Carrotwoods were disease resistant. AnswerHi Karen: The white powder MAY be

white balls on pepper plants

QuestionHello, all my pepper plants (all planted in pots) have white slightly elongated balls (1mm x 2 mm) in size on the back side of most of the leaves. The balls are covered with cotton-like material. I saw a cou

moss parasite?

QuestionFor the past six months, or longer, we have seen a moss attacking the live trees in our area. On a trip to Spokane this past week, we found the moss on trees as far north as Grants Pass, Oregon, and we

abnormal peach seed

QuestionWe live in Abilene, TX. Our peaches on our Elberta tree are big ang beautiful, but when you cut into the peach the seed separates and looks like a really thick web in the center. Is it harmful to eat the pea

river birch tree

QuestionQUESTION: My young river birch tree started to get bright pink - red patches on some of the leaves. It feels almost like velvet. It has been spreading. At first it looked pretty, but now I an concerned for t

tree diseases

Questioni have what i thought was a healthy crab apple tree that bloomed profusely this spring then all of a sudden there are clumps of gray bark-like patches all over the trunk and branches. The leaves on those bra

Roses suffering from thrip Investation

QuestionHi Kathy, Thank you for generously providing advise to so many. Our roses gardens have become badly infested. we have 260 roses bushes all in the same area and we have seen a wide varity of pests and dise

Burning Bush Disease

QuestionMy burning bushs branches are splitting. The oddest thing. The leaves are also droopy. Has gotten plenty of water. What should I do? AnswerNancy: This is odd for this plant. If the bark is splitting lengthw

Weeping Cherry Tree- Leaves turning brown

Question Diseased Weeping Cherr The leaves of my weeping cherry tree have begun to turn brown in the last week. I have used Bayer tree and shrub according to directions.It it getting worse. Please give guidance. A

plum tree leaf blight

QuestionMy plum tree leaves have green spikes on them. What is the problem and what do I do about it. AnswerDon: Difficult to say w/o seeing these, but it may be a type of spindle gall that is formed by a typ

top of honey ash tree dying

Questionlast year the top of my honey ash started to die and was then covered with a web. this year it came back only to start doing the same thing without the web so far. We notice that the birds are eating s