I agree - sounds like Cynanchum laeve, or Blue Sandvine or Honeyvine. It is a native vine. I also encourage it in my yard because the Monarchs will use it. While it is not their preferred plant normally, if I run out of my other milkweeds, I can use it as backup food for the larvae. That said, they are using it to lay eggs on this year, but that hasn't happened in the last 5 years I've grown this vine. I do like the fragrant flowers, and other butterflies also use it as a nectar plant. It can be invasive if you don't remove the seed pods before they explode and send seeds everywhere. I pull it up where not wanted, but a lot of time I don't get all of the root and it just grows back. So, basically I'm just keeping it "in check" and not removing it entirely. Hope this helps. I've attached some info also and images of the vine, its foliage, and its inflorescences. Susan Here is a link that might be useful: Cynanchum laeve

Hi, I had never heard of Air Krete before -- interesting product. They say the R per inch is 3.9, which is a touch better than dense pack cellulose at 3.7 -- probably not enough to make much difference. A well done cellulose job will dense pack the cellulose in the wall cavity such that it fills very well and never settles. It can also be done poorly and leave voids and settle, so I'd try to learn as much as you can about how good the cellulose guy is. One question I would have about the Air Krete is whether they ever have any problem with the wall drying out. It sounds like they put quite a bit of moisture in the wall. Another think to think about is vapor barriers. If you have no vapor barrier in the wall now, I would think about using a vapor barrier paint on the walls, and also sealing up all the holes (e.g. outlets). The cellulose and (I would guess) the Air Krete are permeable to water vapor, and should handle some water vapor migration out the walls, but its good to be on the safe side. Maybe you could let us know what the cellulose bid is? Years ago a friend and I were thinking of starting an insulation business. We went out on a job with a couple guys who wanted to sell their business. This was the Ureaformaldehyde foam, which has since be discredited. Anyway, these guys intentionally sprayed in the wrong mix of the the resin and catylist because the catylist was cheaper -- so they did a bad job just to save themselves a few bucks. My point is, get a good contractor :) Gary

Finally getting back to this! I have better pictures, including one of the shrub as a whole. Here goes: The shrub (you can sort of see the white bit on the bottom right of the plant): Close-up of one of the affected stems (there are two in total, close to each other): Thanks again for any assistance. I'm not sure whether to cut the stems to the ground (the upper growth appears as healthy as the rest of the plant, FWIW), or wipe off the white stuff, or leave it alone...?

I hate using chemicals, but tea scale is the worst. It can kill mature bushes, so you really don't have much choice. The other organic treatment is to spray them with dormant oil (a lighter oil that won't hurt the plants) every ten days until the scales are gone. I'm going to have to go nuclear on my Confederate Rose next year. Luckily, it will die back this winter and come back out, but the whiteflies are just too much. I was hoping for blooms, but no matter what I've done, they are just unbeatable. Next year for sure, it's Bayer, although I really, really hate to do it, but I love that plant.