The crape myrtle has been considered a bulletproof plant in the South, being drought-tolerant and seemingly indestructible, writes Janet B. Carson in Style. But a new insect pest has emerged that threatens this staple of the Arkansas landscape.
The new threat, crape myrtle bark scale, was spotted in Arkansas two years ago. The University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service has received more and more reports about the invasive insect attacking crape myrtles from central Arkansas southward.
To learn about ways to recognize and combat this threat to crape myrtles, see tomorrow’s Style.