Question
We planted wax myrtles in February 09. Shortly after, we had a frost and some of the tender new growth was burned.  Once spring came, new growth appeared but soon after, we discovered insects were eating the leaves.  We used the systemic insecticide by Bayer, but it did not work.  We have since sprayed spectracide, but one of the wax's is completely dead.  Another one is getting some dead spots.  What can I do to find out what the problem is?

Answer
Rachel:
May be best to see if there is someone who can make a "house call". It is difficult for me to give you a diagnosis by email information- best to see the plant in real life. Depending where you live, you can contact your local county Cooperative Extension Service. If you are in the US, each county has its own agricultural office. Let me know if you have difficulty finding your particular office. Just let me know what state and county you live in and I can do some checking on my references. But, the county office usually has someone with horticulture training that may be able to visit your plants. If you feel that the insects were heavily involved with the plants downfall (significant leaf damage), best to get the critter ID'd.  You might try collecting some of these insects in a small jar or bottle and carrying them to a local nursery/garden center and see if they can ID, then you can select the most appropriate insecticide if that is the issue. The Bayer product that you mentioned (Bayer Advanced Garden Tree and Shrub Insecticide Concentrate) contains the ingredient Imidachloprid. This is usually applied to the soil and is taken up by the roots. It is effective for several insects. It is a good idea to find out if these insects are important in this senario or just incidental.

Hope this helps
Steve