Camellia Problems in North Carolina: Tea Scale, Sooty Mold, and What to Do By Ken Erickson · Updated June 2026 Most camellia problems in North Carolina come down to a short, familiar list. Camellias are one of the most popular shrubs in the Triangle, and they are tough – but they do have a short…
Boxwood Care in North Carolina: Blight, Pests, and How to Keep Them Green By Ken Erickson · Updated June 2026 Good boxwood care starts with knowing the handful of problems that hit them here. Boxwoods are the backbone of a Southern landscape – hedges, edging, foundation plantings, topiary. They are tough and long-lived, but they…
Leaf Spot and Anthracnose on Trees and Shrubs: A NC Homeowner’s Guide By Ken Erickson · Updated June 2026 Leaf spot treatment starts before the spots ever show — our warm, wet springs are exactly what the fungus waits for. Here in Raleigh’s southern suburbs, our springs come in warm and wet, and that is…
Root Rot in Trees and Shrubs: Why Plants Wilt and Die in Wet NC Clay By Ken Erickson · Updated June 2026 Root rot treatment starts with the soil — our heavy red clay is where it thrives. If you garden anywhere in Raleigh’s southern suburbs, you already know our dirt: heavy red clay that…
Fire Blight in NC: How to Spot, Prune Out, and Stop It on Pears and Crabapples By Ken Erickson · Updated June 2026 Fire blight treatment is mostly timing and clean cuts — it is bacterial, not fungal. If you have a pear, crabapple, or a row of pyracantha here in Raleigh’s southern suburbs, you…
Shrub and Tree Disease Treatment: A NC Homeowner’s Guide By Ken Erickson · Updated June 2026 Shrub and tree disease treatment starts with a correct diagnosis — the wrong spray wastes time and money. Spots on the leaves, a white dusty film, branches dying back – shrub and tree disease is one of the most…
Why Is Evergreen Turning Brown? Needle Blight, Tip Blight, and Canker in NC By Ken Erickson · Updated June 2026 An arborvitae turning brown is usually one of a few evergreen diseases — and most are treatable if caught early. Evergreens are the default privacy screen across Raleigh’s southern suburbs – drive through any neighborhood…
Boxwood Blight in North Carolina: How to Spot It, Stop It, and Save Your Shrubs By Ken Erickson · Updated June 2026 Boxwood blight treatment is as much about containment as cure — this one spreads fast. Walk down almost any street in Raleigh’s southern suburbs and you will see boxwoods. They frame front porches…
Powdery Mildew on Trees and Shrubs in NC: How to Spot It, Stop It, and Treat It By Ken Erickson · Updated June 2026 Powdery mildew treatment is easiest when you start at the first white haze, not after it blankets the leaves. Every summer around July, we start getting the same calls across Raleigh’s…
What’s Eating My Shrubs? A NC Guide to Leaf-Chewing Pests By Ken Erickson · Updated June 2026 Leaf eating insects are behind most of that ragged, chewed, lace-like damage on shrubs and trees. If you are standing in your yard looking at ragged holes, notched edges, leaves chewed down to lace, or a shrub that…
Scale Insects and Mealybugs on Trees and Shrubs in NC: How to Spot Them By Ken Erickson · Updated June 2026 Scale insect treatment trips people up because scale does not look like a bug at all. Here in Raleigh’s southern suburbs, one of the most common calls I get is not about a bug…
Sap-Sucking Pests on NC Trees and Shrubs: Aphids, Lace Bugs, Mites, Whiteflies By Ken Erickson · Updated June 2026 Sap sucking insects are usually behind bleached leaves, black sooty mold, and sticky residue. If your azaleas look bleached, your gardenia leaves are turning black, or something sticky is dripping onto your patio furniture, you are…
