I have a gardenia plant, which I got about a year ago. It was big and bushy with shiny leaves. It even formed buds two of which actually bloomed. The rest fell off.

I misted it every day, then I noticed that the stems and underside of the leaves were covered with tiny black bugs. I have never seen anything like them before. They were not there when I bought the plant because I checked it very carefully. I wiped the leaves and stems and still do and the bugs keep coming back. I tried plant insect sprays, I put it in a new pot with new soil. I tried washing the leaves and stems with salt water and soapy water and the bugs still came back with a vengence. Now the plant has only one stem. It has very tiny leaves, but it still keeps trying to put out more leaves. But by the time they start to get big they die and fall off.

Do you know what these bugs are? What can I do to get rid of them. Can you help me? Thank you.