Scale insects can be difficult to identify. At a first glance, they look like small bumps on the stems of leaves of your plants, making them easy to mistake as part of the plant itself. But beneath ...

Spots on the leaves of plants in the home landscape can be an indication of a hazardous condition for commonly used shrubs. Armored scale is a class of insect pest found on many plants used in Leon ...

Spring beauty is fleeting, and so is the opportunity to stop scale insects that live on the bark of magnolia trees and suck their sap. “With scale insects, timing is everything,” said Sharon Yiesla, ...

Many gardeners, as well as the horticulturists at the Chicago Botanic Garden, had issues with magnolia scale last year, and it’s a pest to watch closely for in 2025. The Garden’s plant health care ...

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 ...

Since they overwinter, you can scout for them at any time of the year. Carefully peel back the top coat of the scale to identify if it is still alive. Alive, they will be pink, orange or light ...

Many people have a potted citrus plant or two that they keep indoors during the winter and move outdoors for the summer. It may be one of those dwarf trees that produce full-sized fruit. Or it could ...

Houseplant pest damage often becomes visible in winter months because natural predators that kept insects and mites in check outdoors don’t survive the move indoors or fail to come in when plants are ...

Editors note: Throughout the growing season, Mike Hogan, OSU Extension Educator for Agriculture & Natural Resources in Franklin County, will answer gardening questions submitted by Dispatch readers.