Tree and Shrub Care in Georgia

Scale insects appear as small brown, tan, or white bumps along stems and branches and are among the most destructive and overlooked ornamental pests in Georgia landscapes. Both soft scales and armored scales feed by inserting piercing mouthparts directly into plant tissue, weakening plants over multiple seasons before visible symptoms become obvious. Consumer-grade contact sprays often fail because the only phase when most insecticides are effective is the crawler stage, when juvenile scale insects are mobile and have not yet formed their protective shell. Professional programs apply dormant oil in the fall to smother overwintering populations and use systemic insecticides timed to the crawler stage for maximum effectiveness.

New plantings benefit from professional care even more than established ones, because transplant stress leaves them significantly more vulnerable to pest and disease pressure during the first 2 to 3 years. Insects like borers that target stressed plants and fungal diseases that exploit weakened tissue can cause damage during this window that a healthy, established plant would typically resist. A program that includes slow-release fertilizer, dormant oil, and fungicide treatments sets a newly planted ornamental up for long-term success. It is substantially less expensive to protect a new tree or shrub through its establishment period than to remove and replace a plant that succumbs to preventable stress.

That black coating is sooty mold, caused directly by honeydew secreted by sucking insects, most commonly aphids, scale insects, or whiteflies feeding on the plant. The mold blocks sunlight from reaching the leaf surface, reducing photosynthesis and gradually weakening the plant. In Georgia, crape myrtles with white powdery coatings often have powdery mildew instead, a separate fungal issue triggered by humid nights that is frequently confused with sooty mold. Sooty mold requires eliminating the insect source, while powdery mildew requires fungicide applications, and a professional inspection distinguishes between the two.