Street Trees, Infected Crape Myrtles, Plant Swap

By Louise Caudle, Chair

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I want to begin this month’s Landscape Committee report by extending congratulations and appreciation to MaryKay Doane for her collaboration with city of Durham officials. Thanks to her efforts, the city has planted trees in its right-of-way between the sidewalks and the streets in the original section of our neighborhood. 

MaryKay’s goal was to find a way to streamline the bureaucratic process for planting in the right-of-way to make it easier for individual neighbors to add trees near their homes. She was passionate in her quest to find a reasonable solution, and her persistence and determination paid unexpected dividends with the city’s offer to plant trees for free. Please read MaryKay’s article, also published in this newsletter, to learn more about the street tree project that will enhance the long-term beauty of our neighborhood.

As noted in a Landscape Committee report last fall, many of the crape myrtles in the landscapes of homes in the original section of the neighborhood are infected with bark scale. Bark scale turns beautiful crape myrtles into unsightly, sick-looking trees. The best time to treat crape myrtle bark scale is late March through May, when trees are actively growing and the insects are beginning to hatch.

If black sooty mold covers branches of your crape myrtle, it is infected with scale insects. These pests are very small, resembling grains of rice, and are frequently found attached to the bark and sometimes to the leaves of trees. As they feed on the sap of the tree, the insects produce a sticky waste product that covers the tree and eventually turns the tree black. In addition to being unattractive, the sooty mold can reduce the health and performance of infected trees.

To remove the sooty mold and improve the health and beauty of these trees, homeowners must first control the insects.

Some experts recommend homeowners first wash the tree with a solution of one tablespoon of Dawn dish soap per gallon of water and a soft-bristled brush. Simply scrub the trunk and reachable limbs so that soapy water penetrates bark crevices. After scrubbing, you can rinse the tree to remove the soapy residue with a hard stream of water from a hose. This scrubbing can be done any time but is most effective when done in late winter or early spring to reduce populations of insects before they reproduce.

The second step recommended by many experts is to treat the crape myrtle with an insecticide. Members of the Courtyards at Southpoint Garden Club have had success in controlling scale insects by using a former Bayer product called Bioadvanced Tree & Shrub Protect and Feed. This product is mixed with water and applied in the soil near the roots, which allows the insecticide to be absorbed by the roots and move up into the tree to kill the insects.

Treating your tree is quite simple. In this “Do It Yourself Crape Myrtle Bark Scale Control” video, an entomologist with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service demonstrates the easy steps to treat your tree, using Dawn dish soap and the Bioadvanced Tree and Shrub product. After watching this video, if you would like help scrubbing and treating your tree, please send an email here and one of us from the Landscape Committee will assist you.

Upcoming event:  The Garden Club will host a plant swap on Friday, March 27, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the pavilion in the new section of the neighborhood. This will enable neighbors to divide and share extra plants from their gardens. If you are interested in sharing plants that you need to divide or in getting free plants from your neighbors, be on the watch for more information from the Garden Club in the coming weeks.

Comments, questions and suggestions related to landscaping in our community are always welcome at our email address.  

Landscape Committee members include Debbie Bell, Kathleen Cirillo, MaryKay Doane, Leigh Garmhausen and Bob Williams, with me as chair.