Specialty Gardening: Monrovia Augusta Gardenia in need., 1 by ABarker

ABarker wrote:
geez, almost a year to the date, I am having another problem with my cherished gardenia. This last month we've been having a lot of much colder weather than usual, as many of you know. So my gardenia (which thanks to Mattadeus' and Smdent's advice last year had made a complete recovery and had 13 buds on it waiting to open) was in the house with me for about a week.
Two days ago, it was fine, resting under my pergola, out of the bitter cold and not too damp. This morning I come out to limp leaves, a strange yellow-green in color and whiteish scales. Black spots too that look like bug waste?? I thought at first it must have gotten too cold the last two nights (48F) but the white scales and the black spots make me think something else may be going on.
Any ideas on what could be the problem here, and what I need to do next?
My poor girl... she had been doing so well. Now my husband wants to call her a zombie because I refuse to stop trying to bring her back from the dead. Ugh! Help please!