White spots on magnolias

Does anybody know what this is and how I can make it go away?

Thank you in advance,
Kim

I cant tell for sure, but your photo somewhat matches figure 2 on this webpage for something called Cephaleuros parasiticus.
http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/constancea/83/lopez_etal/trent_allfigs.html

it looks like scale to me. similar to Tea Scale but a little larger.

Is it hard or soft bodied?

Hi, Thank you for your responses. It's not hard like a shell, but it's not mushy, and it's not fluffy. Is that what scale is?

Thank you, Kim

there are hard bodied scale and soft bodied scale both.

Are they both banished using the same product? And what would you recommend that my magnolias (and passing cats) wouldn't mind?

Thank you so much for your help!
Kim

first, how big is the tree? if it's easy to spray, a soap spray (i use liquid castile soap) is good for soft scale and mealybugs and pretty near everything else. if it is a hard scale, you need some summer oil. that's a light gardening oil that will smother them. if there isn't a whole lot to do, an aerosol can of generic cooking oil spray works great. just don't do it when it's really hot, i.e. summer time, as oil will burn the leaves in heat.

Thank you so much for your advice, Track!

I have two infested trees, and both are small enough for me to get to with a ladder. I've looked at a bunch of pictures, but I still haven't figured out whether I've got soft or hard scale.

Does the above picture help with the identification?

Thanks again, Kim

soft bodies will move but it will be slow. hard bodies attach to a spot and stay there. i think i would try the castile soap and water first. castile soap is made of oils and it may do the trick quite nicely. i think you may have the white magnolia scale shown here: http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/fasulo/woodypest/205.htm

This message was edited Feb 21, 2012 8:38 PM

That's exactly what I have; I simply couldn't find a good picture of it. I'll try the castille soup.

Thank you!
Kim

Er.... soap, not soup!

one good thing about magnolias....even though they are evergreen, they do shed off the old leaves. if you end up having to use oil, you may lose every leaf but the new ones will come out very fast and healthy!

[url=http://www.companionplantingguide.com/]Home Vegetable Gardening[/url] Magnolias are evergreen...