Pest Notes – Vol. 2 - Greedy Scale

May 27, 2025

Greedy Scale

AKA Mr. Krabs scale; this scale wants all of your money!

Well, not exactly. But it certainly threatens your landscape investment.

Arbutus ‘Marina’ is a common landscape planted tree. These trees have a moderate growth rate, strong branching structure elegant red bark and beautiful pink or rose-colored flowers. They are commonly planted in parkways, as a centerpiece for a cul-de-sac or residential home, or throughout a landscape.



While these trees have a shorter lifespan than other Arbutus species since it is a hybrid, optimal care can allow them to stand for upwards of 20 years.

Common mistakes when installing this species are:

  1. Planting depth
  2. Shallow frequent watering cycles (planting in turf included)
  3. Aggressive and/or improper pruning
  4. Weed-whacking the base or root collar of a tree


These are all easy fixes. Avoid these mistakes by having a reputable and professional contractor perform tree installations, or a professional company oversee the installations. Protect your investment.


This species of tree develops phytophthora root rot infections commonly. They have also been found to host Bot canker, anthracnose, rust, aphid and thrip.


All of these pests, greedy scale included, are opportunistic. This means they only host stressed plants. Remember, pests are electromagnetic – they operate on a different frequency. When a plant nearby is exhibiting stress, they are on it like white on rice. It is also possible for pathogens or insects to be dormant nearby, and stress signals ‘activate’ them.


Our TreeLife personnel have been running in to greedy scale on strawberry tree very frequently. While this pest doesn’t kill a tree off by itself, it certainly inhibits their growth and function and contributes to the development of more serious issues. While this pest can host a long list of species in our area, we are seeing it on strawberry tree the most frequently.



TreeLife develops plans to not only abate pests but address underlying issues resulting in those pests. Our goal with tree treatments is not to create chemically-dependent landscapes – rather, encourage a landscape and its plants to better take care of themselves, which is what they do!

Get it right the first time. Call TreeLife CA!

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Pest Notes: Vol. 4 – Palm Trees

July 2, 2025
Palms are most closely associated with grass. They are “monocots.”  Woody trees are “dicots.” Monocots have one point of growth, while dicots have two. With their second growing point (cambium), dicots can compartmentalize decay, regenerate woody tissue, respond to attack, etc. Palms, or monocots, do not have that capability. They have a single point of growth called the “meristem” also commonly called “spear-growth.” This is the main growing point of a palm – the center of its head. They do not expand radially, or get “thicker.”

Pest Notes: Vol. 3 - Cupressus sempervirens - Italian cypress

June 17, 2025
Italian cypress reminds me of the Queen of Hearts and her castle in Alice in Wonderland. They line the property boundaries of fine estates, work as an excellent screen species and require minimal maintenance. With their upright, erect structure, pruning is typically only needed to maintain a uniform shape when a branch over-elongates. Watering once established is minimal – a couple of deep watering events in the summer and you are good to go. It is, however, common for this species to develop secondary pests when improperly installed and maintained.  Planting depth and water is crucial – this species can contract root rot, which commonly occurs when planting depth is too deep and watering cycles too frequent and shallow. They can also deal with a canker that produces toxins, wreaking havoc on mineral-and-water conducting tissue.
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