Hi Rocio. The bugs you're seeing are Spider Mites. They're destructive, fast-working, sap sucking critters that build webbs. Hosing knocks them off, but unless you spray the entire population, (eggs included) they'll return. I make up my own mix as a preventative and insecticide. 2-4 drops dish soap, (not Dawn) garlic and citrus rind in water. Mix well..then spray the entire plant, make sure you spray under leaves and between stems. Mites find hiding spots, so the object is to locate and rid. Emproving the environment is very important. Gardenias are NOT the easiest plants to care for as you well know. They need fresh, circulating air, and prefer cool rooms..If you can place outside, do so. Dry stale air invites mites, Gardenias happen to be mite magnets, so it's up to you to beat them before they infest the whole plant, and kill it. Inspect neighboring plants. Mites are contagious and will attack plants in the same room as your GArdenia. I mist Gardenias daily, unless in bloom. (I don't spray any plant that's in bud/flower) If possible, take to sink/shower, once a week, and hose foliage. Gardenias require humidity. Misting, placing plants on humidity trays help. In winter, run a humidifer. If indoors, keep in an airy room. But placing outdoors in spring, summer and fall really improves looks. If you can't take it outside, then provide sufficient air circulation, humidity, and proper sunlight. Later, when your plant is insect-free, use an acidic fertilizer...like Azalea ferts. Keeping soil acidic is mandatory. Sometimes, if pH gets too high, (alkline) Gardenais stress and bugs are more prone to attack. So for the time being, find a way to rid the mites. If you don't want to use my mix, there are many others on the market. But ridding those bugs should be done ASAP, otherwise not only will they kill your Gardenia, but harm other plants..good luck, Toni

Well, I'm sure as heck confused, lol! Let's get some things straight, jamietree. First of all, if you were using a FUNGICIDE, you did nothing to address the problem with the insects. Fungicides are for the treatment of fungus diseases. INSECTICIDES are for insects. The chemical chlorophenoxy is an HERBICIDE....so let's just assume that you are mistaken about that chemical. Herbicides kill plants in various ways. So....what was the chemical that you soaked the plant with? If the garden center gave you a fungicide to get rid of the black sooty mold on your river birch, they did you a disservice. Black sooty mold won't be controlled by a fungicide because it is not a pathogen. Aphids need to be controlled and the black sooty mold will then go away on its own. Insecticidal soap can be helpful (and safe) to use but the spray needs to be directed to the underside of the leaves where the whitefly hangs out, and where the nymphs hide. Spraying over the top won't do much of anything. Super-fine horticultural oils (of which there are many kinds and brands) can be very helpful, too. Again, these must be applied to the underside of the leaves.

I agree that it sounds like scale. My own experience with scale has been extremely negative. Ordinary sprays like Safer's don't get rid of it, and you need special sprays for it that often cause the plant to completely defoliate. After that it's almost certain to get root rot, and etc. I would not take a plant like that in, myself. The scale spreads very rapidly and can spread to other plants. Spend your energies on a healthy plant instead of your neighbors cast off is imo.

Before using anything it's a good idea to put a sample in a plastic bag and take it some nurseries for identification. I suggest more than one because the advice might differ, I had the experience of one nursery trying to sell me something and the other saying pesticides are ineffective for the particular problem but as the plant matures it will become resistant, which turned out to be the right advice in that case, I did nothing and saved myself some money and hassle and the plant was fine, or sometimes the correct solution is not the seemingly obvious product but a different product or treatment, so it's really best to start with identifying the problem correctly.