I live in South Florida and have these wonderful hibiscus bushes. Unforunately, I am pretty weak in the overall care of them. Two problems I am encoutering. First is a dark greying black, I guess fungus, that is forming on some of the bushes. Along the stalk. This also affects other bushes and plants at various times. The 2nd problem is I believe some insect invasion. The leaves are curling up at times and the bushes tend not to flower during certain months even though I see buds. I believe they flower much better in the winter and I'm guessing that it is too cold for the bugs and they have died and left the bushes. I can't really see any obvious bugs but the most obvious thing I see is a white, cotton-like ball sometimes on the leaves or even on the stalk. They are frequently grouped together. The balls are pretty small about a 1/4 of an inch in diamter I would say.

I would love to know what is coming out of these balls and how to get rid of them as well as the "fungus" buildup I am seeing. Thanks a lot for reading.