Garden columnist Dan Gill answers readers' questions each week. To send a question, email Gill at gnogardening@agcenter.lsu.edu. My problem is with black stuff on my crape myrtles' leaves and bark. It ...

My "Tonto" crape myrtles stay covered with aphids and black mildew. I've tried every product available, and none keeps the aphids away for more than two weeks. The trees are close to our house, which ...

Garden columnist Dan Gill answers readers' questions each week. To send a question, email Gill at dgill@agcenter.lsu.edu. About a year ago, we redid our flowerbeds and added three crape myrtle trees.

Although native to eastern Asia, crape myrtles are indispensable in the Southern landscape. Its vibrantly colored flowers in shades of pink, purple, red and white from May to September virtually ...

DEAR NEIL: My husband made sure I read your column telling us never to top our crape myrtles. However, ours had aphids last summer, stopped growing and looks terrible. Short of digging it up, can we ...

Q: I have a small crape myrtle tree with leaves that were constantly wet this year. The ground and plants underneath were always wet. Now that the leaves are gone. I can see the branches are also wet.

DEAR NEIL: Last year my crape myrtles as well as the plants beneath them had the black sooty mold on their leaves and stems. I suspect it was crape myrtle aphids or scale. I’ve read in your latest ...

If you have a spot for a specimen shrub or tree, consider planting a crape myrtle. They are cold hardy, produce attractive flowers, and may also provide some free pest control. Since we are on the ...