Pest battle with Redbud — and how I won

I had a serious problem with scale insects or aphids in the canopy attracting sooty mould on my Redbud earlier this year. Caught it late and had to work hard to bring the plant back. The experience was frustrating but educational.

Now that it's healthy again I can fully appreciate canopy habitat for birds, insects, and wildlife, which is remarkable. I've repositioned it in a boundary or avenue planting in a larger space and improved my attention to formative pruning in the first five years to build a clear leader. full canopy providing shade and habitat in summer was the proof that the plant had fully recovered — genuinely beautiful. Moral of the story: inspect regularly and catch problems early.