Ask-a-Dave's-Gardener: What is wrong with desert rose, 1 by Verukajone1

Verukajone1 wrote:
Hello,
New to this forum and hope you can help. I bought a desert rose from home depot a few days ago. I was so focused on the emerging buds that I really didn\'t pay attention to anything else. Upon further inspection, I\'m worried that the plant is infested with something. The stems have portions that look like the skin is cracking. Sorry, have no other way to describe it. Also, there are brown spots/bumps all over plant. The base of the plant looks crackly also and has brown spots/bumps. Some of the leaves have a white powder/dust on them. A few leaves at the bottom have turned yellow. Is this normal? Is it infested? If so with what? Can I cure it or should I just return/dispose of plant? The desert rose sits on my balcony and I\'m afraid it might infect other plants if that is the issue. I love that the plant is bushy and has many buds, I would hate to loose it. Your help is greatly appreciated.