Not a seed/bug story but this is kind of funny. My grandfather had a large farm and one time out in the woods picking blackberries, I came face to face with one of those HUGE yellow and black orb weaver spiders. I *never* saw it until my face hit the web and I started screaming to get it off my head. Everyone back at the house said they could hear me screaming but mom said she could tell the difference between a "spider scream" and a "getting-murdered-in-the-woods-by-an-axe-murderer" scream or a "getting-attacked-and-eaten-by-a-wild-animal" scream so nobody was too worried. LOL!!

Wow! That's a major case of scale. With such a heavy infestation, it'd be easiest to discard the plant and start over. Or you could begin by rubbing off what you see, then applying an appropriate spray.

As it relates to securing grafted trees (or any plant material other than seeds) where I live, the following applies: REGULATED COUNTRIES DUE TO PINK HIBISCUS MEALYBUG INFESTATION Due to the threat of the Pink Hibiscus Mealybug (Maconellicoccus hirsutus) please observe the following: PLANT MATERIAL, FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES ARE PROHIBITED ENTRY FROM AREAS WHERE THIS PEST IS KNOWN TO BE PRESENT. IMPORT PERMITS WILL NOT BE ISSUED FOR THE FOLLOWING AREAS: ASIA � Bangladesh, Brunei, Darussalam, Cambodia, China (Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao, Shanxi, Xizhang, Yuunan), India (widespread), Indonesia (widespread), Japan (Ryukyu), Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tawian, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Yemen. AFRICA � Benin, Burkin, Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Cote d�Ivoire, Egypt, Gabon, Gambia, Kenya, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Seychelle, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania (including Zanzibar), Zaire, Zambia. NORTH AMERICA � Mexico, California (Imperial County), Florida, Hawaii, Texas (south-eastern sea board). CENTRAL AMERICA & CARIBBEAN � Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent & Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, US Virgin Islands. SOUTH AMERICA � French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela. OCEANIA � Australia (Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia), Guam, Micronesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Western Samoa. Importation from all areas are prohibited unless exceptional circumstances are observed (Tissue culture or hot water treatment). Please contact the Department of Environmental Protection for further information. (Suggestions for other locations that deal with phyto sanitary certs are always welcome)

Yes thats exactly where I bought my fushias is in Baguio and its really high up in the mountains and they dont call them fuchias they call them dancing ladies which is actually an orchid species but to be honest there is alot of things they do here wrong but any how yea and I even bought a couple medinilla magnifica plants and they died as soon as I took them back home in manila out of the very high elevation within a couple days. But my bougainvillas do great here but I do struggle with my hibiscus and bugs alot. I also have a hell of a time with petunias. I am noticing though that they grow everything here in rice hull medium so I am experimenting with that and coco coir now to see how well it works on all my ornamentals. I just recently gave up growing gardinias cause of buds and they are very hard to bud. My new project is to grow bougainvilla in hanging baskets if anyone has any hands on advice?