Reply to Name of magenta crape myrtle?

Forum Index » Lawn and Garden

Reply to "Name of magenta crape myrtle?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]New/young trees are really suffering from scale.  The pesticide can only do so much.  I'd recommend a different tree.[/quote]

It can only do so much--like completely eliminate the problem?

I use the right pesticide at the right time. Zero bark scale. [/quote]

OK, but this is a theoretical, unplanted tree. Why would OP plant a tree that will require drenching her soil in pesticides when there are hundreds of kinds of trees she could plant that won’t?

PP is right that young trees are particularly hard hit. My neighborhood is full of sad young crape myrtles that are covered in black soot. [/quote]

Because the positive traits of the crape myrtle are unmatched by any of the natives folks propose?

I'm just not sure why pesticides are treated like a Boogeyman. Used on a crape myrtle, they won't harm a single pollinator, have low soil mobility so they aren't going anywhere other than the application target, and are degraded within a few months such that they aren't present in the environment a short time after application.  It's just a knee-jerk reaction that "pesticides are bad".

Btw, sooty mold (the problem you describe) is different than bark scale, though the treatment is the same. [/quote]

Sooty mold on crape myrtles is caused by bark scale. It’s often the most obvious evidence of the presence of scale.

And pollinators aren’t the only creatures we should be worried about. Plenty of insects—fireflies, cicadas, etc.—spend most of their lives underground. Do you think drenching the soil with pesticides won’t hurt them? [/quote]

No. Sooty mold is just that. Mold. It grows on crape myrtles because of the honeydew that is excreted by insects feeding on the tree, of which bark scale is only one type. At least in this area, aphids are still a far more common cause of sooty mold than is cmbs.

And are you really arguing that a crape myrtle shouldn't be planted because the insecticide that effectively treats a number of its problems may lower the cicada population?  Come on you ninny. [/quote]

OK, I’m tapping out of this. But first: With this recent influx of bark scale, the honeydew from those insects has absolutely become the main cause of sooty mold on crape myrtles in the area. It’s in every single article out there on the subject, but you can also see it for yourself. Walk around and look at crape myrtles. If you see one with black branches, I guarantee you’ll also see scale.

And yeah, I care about cicadas and fireflies. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics