First one looks like a Vernonia sp,

Here's a few pics of my garden which seems to be forever changing. You have to go around corners to see all of my garden so no overall pictures, sorry. It's a good mix of flowers weeds LOL. Annette Here is a link that might be useful: My garden

Yikes! I agree with Jean that removal and replacement makes the most sense at this stage of infestation. For the future, scale insects don't build up a population like that overnight. This looks like a looooooong time in the making, as in years. Occasional inspection of your plants can be really helpful in spotting a problem before it ends up like this. The tiny white bumps, by the way, are the newest generation of the same kind of insect.

Thanks Diane. I enjoyed looking at the photos in your link. Here are pictures of Nectarine's visit to our house and also her visit with Nita, Jerri and GabbyGirl to San Antonio, Nectarine