well, I am pretty sure that it is scale on my laurus nobilis. every spring the little white babies start crawling on the leaf veins, and I also have that black covering on the leaves. the old ones cover the branches. Very disgusting. I have read that ladybirds and lacewings are their predators, but have not seen them at work, even though I do have them in my garden. For now that is the most environment friendly solution I have thought about, but don't know if it works. All the proffessionals in the area wanted to give me a very toxic spray, but when they heard it was a tree, they said that every attempt will be futile. And I am not cutting it down :)

Looks more like traumatic damage and NOT scale. The spots could be from sun. The jade is common jade that is dry but should perk up once it grows some roots.

I've never had to battle with Scale but from what I've heard they are very annoying and difficult to fully rid them from the plant. I use this for when I have Spider Mites and it works every time, and you can possibly try it with your Scale problem? Take a large bucket or tub and fill it with water (Not cold, but not boiling) just so it tops off the top of the plant. I throw a little rubbing alcohol, Hydrogen Peroxide, and dish soap. Leave the plant in for 15-20 minutes and take it out to drain for at least an hour. Good luck, and I'm sure others will comment with better information and tips.

I haven't posted on this forum for a long time but did have experience with scale on an Adenium that was gifted to me. The previous owner couldn't get rid of the scale so she gave it to me instead (I told her I'd try to save it). I did use rubbing alcohol with a cotton swab to remove any visible scales. But as Rick said, it is not a cure. More soon emerged and I went the insecticide route. I use Bayer's Advanced 3-in-1 Insect, Disease, and Mite Control. You can use the ready-spray version or buy the concentrate and dilute it yourself. I sprayed it 3 times, 10 days apart. Make sure to coat the top and bottom layer of the leaves plus the trunk. The scales had never come back and it has been 3 years. Good luck to you!