I know it's hard to believe...almost everyone in my neighborhood waters every day, some twice a day, but I water once a week and my yard looks better than any of them. Most of my neighbors have big weed problems because of daily watering. Do a search of the forum and you will see LOTS of posts on the subject, and the conclusion is always the same. Here is a quote I lifted from another post: "Frequent (daily), light waterings promote shallow root systems that do not result in healthy turf. To develop a deep root system, water your lawn when the first signs of wilt occur. When the lawn needs water, you'll see spots in the lawn that turn bluish-gray, footprints that remain in the grass long after being made, and many leaf blades folded in half lengthwise. Apply only enough water to wet the soil in the rootzone. 3/4 to 1 inch of water is generally sufficient. (see link below) Do not water the lawn again until signs of wilt occur again. This technique works regardless of turfgrass species, soil type, season, or other environmental conditions. It may take up to 6 weeks to condition your turf to survive several days to a week without wilting between irrigations or rainfall. During this time the root system is developing and growing deeper into the soil. In time, your lawn will establish a more uniform appearance with less thatch and a deeper root system" And a follow up post: "In other words, you want to gradually work up to only once or twice a week watering, instead of three times a day. The total for a week (including rain) should be 1 inch. You can see how long it takes your sprinklers to deliver 1 inch by putting some tuna cans on the lawn. Don't be surprised if it takes hours. Oh, and the best time to water is early morning. Afternoon is OK, but more water will be wasted due to evaporation. Never water in the evening or at night; it encourages disease."

Imprelis isn't cheap - $50 for 4.5oz (not sure what it mixes out to) & not widely available for retail purchase. Triclopyr works on violets, just slowly & probably repeated applications 2-3 weeks apart. It might work out to be of comparable cost to Imprelis in the long run. You can find it in Ortho Weed-B-Gon Oxalis, Chickweed & something else @ HomeDepot. Say $11.

Gypsy, scale insects have fooled a lot of uninformed people, you are not alone! The kinds that likes woody plants can be especially difficult to notice, unless you know what to look for. I think that your attitude about what to do is one hundred percent right! No plant is worth the kind of fight you'll have to wage to get rid of the insects, if ever you can! Some people are willing to use systemic pesticides for indoor plants, but that's not something I would recommend. And your infestation looks to be too far gone for that, anyway. In the future, inspect any plant at the garden center before purchasing. Look carefully all along the stems, twigs, and leaves. Even if the plant looks pest free, there are precautions you can take.

Neonicotinoids like imidacloprid are useless against cottony cushion scale and some other scale. In fact, it is counter indicated since it affects its main biological control. Over here, pyriproxifen and spirotetramat are recommended together with oils depending on the type of scale. These are growth inhibitors and not knock down insecticides. If going for the organophosphates it is better to use chlorpyrifos but I know it is not available for home and garden use in the US.