The bush looks like a crepe myrtle to me, although I would not have thought about them doing well there, but probably the zone is close to mine. I always feel the more northerly areas should be colder, but I realize that is not necessarily so. As for the beetle, I don't remember what it is, but i have been told they are harmless to plants.

I live in Maryland too, just outside of Washington DC, and I agree that the bush/tree is a crepe myrtle. I have several in my yard that are at a similar stage of leaf-out. I can't help with the beetle, though.

Well, I have always called the big green beetles that show up in June, June bugs, maybe a regional thing? I feel like I have seen these beetles most of the summer, at night around lights mostly.

I guess there are several different looks for a june bug if you look at the link above.We have the brown ones here .......and Julia did mention these bugs were dead in the images.

Thanks all for the comments. I'll pass along the info to my daughter.

Yes, they were dead. I think it is what they call May/June bugs. I posted a pic in the Insect forum as well and response was May Beetles, in the Scarab family. Here, those "June bugs" appear in June for a short period at night and then they are gone or at least we no longer see them swarming.

For the bush, I at first thought like signet to possibly be Rose of Sharon but with the cluster of seed pods I was unsure.After viewing the Crepe Myrtle photos, I think the seed pod clusters resemble closely what it looks like. I guess she should have trimmed those seed pod heads off earlier. Will it matter if she didn't trim it off or can she do it now?

Julia

Julia, I think she should be safe removing the seed pods now . Spring is when I remove the pods that I don't harvest from our Rose of Sharon and Lilac trees in spring . They just snap off . I would assume that should be the same for Crape Myrtle .

As for the bush it won't be long before your daughter can confirm for certain just what she has there.

signet: thanks.

She moved in late last fall and of course now that spring has sprung in MD she is finding out what is growing in her gardens.

I don't always even get to removing the seed pods. A couple of mine must be 10 ft tall. Been there over 20 years and protected by the house. Watch for seedlings. Crepe myrtles are not quite so bad as rose of Sharon, but whichever shrub it is, they are hard for me to pull up.

I agree it is a crepe myrtle tree. Of course they are everywhere in the south and we say those little seed pods look like miniature cotton bolls although if you have not seen cotton, that is a useless statement! It will be interesting to see the color as they come in all sorts of beautiful colors. They also come in different heights. Mine are so tall I could never trim all the seed head clusters off. Does not impact blooming on mine. We also have a contentious debate among gardeners about whether to heavy prune as many people like to prune them so they “drape” their branches. That practice has helped coined the term “crepe murder” among those opposed to doing this kind of pruning. I do not prune mine except to thin branches and trunks. I notice most landscapers use white crepe myrtle trees around my area so if her lawn was professionally landscaped, I would guess that will probably be the color.

Wow , interesting facts ! I wish Crepe Myrtle would grow here but they say in zone 6 that they die back to the ground in winter only to grow up again in the spring. I don't think I have ever even seen one for sale around here .

Yes Rose of Sharon does set lots of seedlings even at a distance where you wonder how they got there , I am guessing birds but yet I have never seen a bird go after the seeds. The hummers love the flowers though

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Your daughter's Extension Agent can identify the beetle.