Scale on Magnolia - Arborist Coming Tuesday-what will he say?

[Chuck]

Okey dokey. Will keep up the barrage however I am still going to raise a glass!

A GLASS???? No guts....no glory......Positive thinking is worth at least a bottle.

 

[DeborahJane]

Good luck Lori but you know even reading these posts makes me itch.
Also makes me very thirsty!!!!

 

[CanadianLori]

A GLASS???? No guts....no glory......Positive thinking is worth at least a bottle.

It is a refillable glass..and I have an ice maker

 

[Esther Knapicius]

good to know.

 

[CanadianLori]

Well, I didn't cancel the appointment since it was free and now I know that the wake is not going to be for the scale.

I did manage to kill a lot of it but the tree guy said that it is just too far gone. Ditto for the ornamental crabapple. It has something else that has been working at it for years and frankly, I'm not sad to see it go. It has gotten gnarly and uglier every year.

Thank goodness the one that gives me a crop of crabapples to make jelly hasn't suffered.

This might seem like a big hit for a little yard but I still have three trees left which are in good shape. And my back yard is only about 30d x 40w including the deck at the back!

Hope the guys that come to take them down are wearing cute outfits....

 

[Chuck]

Well, I didn't cancel the appointment since it was free and now I know that the wake is not going to be for the scale.

I did manage to kill a lot of it but the tree guy said that it is just too far gone. Ditto for the ornamental crabapple. It has something else that has been working at it for years and frankly, I'm not sad to see it go. It has gotten gnarly and uglier every year.

Thank goodness the one that gives me a crop of crabapples to make jelly hasn't suffered.

This might seem like a big hit for a little yard but I still have three trees left which are in good shape. And my back yard is only about 30d x 40w including the deck at the back!

Hope the guys that come to take them down are wearing cute outfits....

Those scale insects are in the soil and if they have affected other trees in a small yard you can bet that they will attack your good crab apple tree too. It is only a matter of time. If you want to protect your good tree keep it sprayed and this coming spring as soon as the ground thaws apply beneficial nematodes over your entire yard. IMO

 

[CanadianLori]

Thank you Chuck, I will be on the defense.

 

[Chuck]

Thank you Chuck, I will be on the defense.

I think you will be better off if you go on offense and continue to attack and kill the Magnolia Murderers

 

[CanadianLori]

Okay. I'll keep spraying the cr out of it and whatever excess that drips on the grass might help too?

 

[Chuck]

Okay. I'll keep spraying the cr out of it and whatever excess that drips on the grass might help too?

Try to keep the oil off of your grass as it will act as a magnifying glass and turn your grass brown, perhaps killing it. In the spring use either nematodes, spinosad, pyrethrin or a pyrethroid as a soil drench. Scale is mostly spread by wind and live in and under the bark of trees and at certain times before they turn hard as rocks they crawl around and end up overwintering in the soil. They are difficult to eradicate completely without regular treatment once you have them but once they are gone just a visual inspection once in awhile is all you need to do. Start looking for them early in the spring. Maybe you will get them all this summer

 

[DeborahJane]

Just watching the guys doing their thing is fascinating, it really does seem to be an art, swinging around the tree and chopping, calculating where the branches will land and the grand finale of the trunk dropping....well, won't matter what they are wearing, you'll enjoy it Lori.

 

[CanadianLori]

Maybe I should just set fire to it.

Now I know why people buy nasty chemicals. Life is too short for this stuff, particularly because I still work!

will try to be more positive tomorow. ...

 

[treepro]

So tomorrow the santa rosa certified arborist is coming ?