Scale? + ?wounds = new lilac tree in big trouble??

I'm hoping that GuyS and other tree folk can spare a few minutes to help me out.
I'll post a series of pictures to show the damage.

here's the situation:

-- bought a syringa reticulata 'Ivory Silk' at a local nursery in March.
-- it was dormant when I bought it. I left it with them for several weeks till I could plant it.
-- it had *one* wound in the trunk then. I asked about it. They said it looked like it had fallen over at some point. Or that it could have been hail damage.

-- the nursery delivered it. I planted it within a few days of arrival (it was in a 15 gal. pot)

-- soon after planting I realized it had more bark wounds. I especially noticed them on some of the smallest branch (pencil+ size). I figured it had gotten banged up during delivery (I *saw* it get banged up some as he took it off his truck).

-- now (a few weeks later), it is riddled with wounds, from just above the graft up as far as I can see, plus more on the branches

-- AND it sure looks like it's got scale.
-- seems to be the hard scale? -- smooth waxy coating I can scrape off with my fingernail.
(I can't get enough of a close-up to show this well, but it's visible in the last two pics I'll post)

Questions:
-- are the wounds related to the scale? something else? *what* is it?!!!
-- am I right about hard scale?

and the most important question: *what can I do???!*

a thousand thanks to whoever can help out. It's so sad.

(a small kousa dogwood that came from the same nursery at the same time also seems to be covered in scale. It's buds aren't budding, while our established florida dogwood is in full bloom. No wounds like the lilac. It's in the backyard, lilac in the front. They're 30-40 ft. apart. But that's another misery. Separate posting later...).

I've started at the bottom of the trunk with the photos and am proceeding up to and into the lower branches

still heading up the trunk

just two more of the trunk, then two of branches where you can see what I think is scale plus more bark wounds

a bit fuzzy, but if you look at the left hand side of the photo, you'll see the line between scale? / no scale running horizontally along the branch in the foreground

last photo. this is typical of the wounds on the branches. It looks like the bark is splitting.

oops. the last one of the trunk didn't post. here it is:

If I was you I would be taking that tree back. They may have said the pot fell over or something, but it hard to see the pics, but my guess is it looks like you got some sort of bores eating away on the trunk.

It could have had some lilac bores and not that the weather nice they having a field day munching on your tree. I would get my receipt and take it back.
Especially if it bores before they infect your other trees.

thanks starlight,
I've been thinking the same thing, now that I woke up and really saw all the holes etc.

Do you know if borers would create that kind of splitting along the smalll branches? (I know it's hard to see, but you can kind of see it in the last pic).

Good Grief!!!! Now that is a pick ya can really see damage too. I would be getting that tree dug up and returned as fast as I could. I would also spray the ground around it afterwords to make sure maybe no larva is roaming around in the ground.

Looks like you might not only have the bore eggs from the bulging lighter parts but looks like some sort of major rot damage going on too possible from where the bores emerged. Yes they can make small cracks and splits in the stems and branches as they travel.

With minal damage you might have been able to treat it , but you have major gapping wounds and that has weakened the tree to allow other pathogens to enter.

I would get rid of it as fast as I could. Sorry looks like it was a pretty tree.

Just saw this thread. I agree, it's probably ash-lilac borer. As the name indicates, this insect will attack either genus and will move back and forth between them, so watch your ash trees too. It's a clearwing moth that looks a lot like a wasp, about 1/2-3/4 inches long as I recall. You can set a pheromone trap out to catch males, just to confirm the identity, or just take the tree back (IMMEDIATELY).

And given that it also has scale, and that the dogwood from the same nursery has scale too, and you also saw the crew mishandling the tree, that nursery should be scratched from your shopping list. You have many more in St. Louis to choose from. (Don't they require nursery inspections in Missouri anymore?)

Guy S.

thanks guy,

2 for 2 (you and starlight). No wishing this away now.

Well, this nursery *had* a good reputation (word of mouth one). But they are indeed off my list now regardless of whether they do the right thing or not. I mean - who wants to plant trees and then *not* have them? And worst of all, to bring in terrible pests we didn't have (we *had* no scale, no borer here).

To be fair to the nursery it would be good to know: could they (or inspectors) have detected borer and scale in the dormant saplings?

I may have seen one borer (looking like clear-winged wasp) just a few days ago. Now trying to remember *which* tree it was near!

We do have an ash. It's about 70 ft. away, but you're telling me these critters fly aren't you.
ok, I'm flying to the nursery.

(*if* there's a bright side: I'm going to have plenty of room for that Franklinia :-) If I can make it safe to introduce another tree this season.

The serviceberry from the same nursery *seems* to be ok, but I'll take a closer look at it too.

thanks again

Let us know how ya make out at the nursery. Will keep my fingers crosse for ya. Ya if the Nursery was checking up on stuff they would have noticed the bores and the previous markings.