Alfie, do the black spots move or embedded in leaves?
Make sure not to overwater, or leave pot sitting in water..All you'll find yourself with is a root-rotted plant.
Drafts will NOT harm a Gardenia. In fact, they do great in cooler temps.
I realize plants look great in ornamental pots, but for some reason, and this is just my opinion, plants do best in the ugly plastic pots they come in..LOL
In most cases, when someone wants to plant in a decorative pot, it's best to slip the original growing pot inside the decorative one..If the outside pot doesn't have drainage holes, place something like styrofoam sheets on the bottom so inner pot doesn't sit in water. After a while the water stinks, turns yellow.
It's possible your plant has a fungus, but w/o seeing pic it's hard to tell.
Did you notice the black spots while at your office? Toni

I HOPE that you don't have a plant virus. A few years ago, I had about 30 plants that I had grown from seed (got from the plant exchange here, actually). It was great, I had some papaya plants, a bunch of guavas, aloe, dragon fruit and even some tiny finger lime seedlings. Long story short, I went to a wedding shower, the party favors that were given were plants and I got a small coffee plant. I put it in the bathroom and months later noticed black spots on the leaves. I figured it was nothing. Months later I noticed similar spots on all my other plants. Then I had seedlings of artichokes that I noticed had them. I sent some of the artichoke seedlings with spots to the Agricultural extension in my state, they sent me a report saying it's some plant virus. Problem with that is, there is NO way to cure them! It was terrible, I had to throw out ALL my plants! I was so sad about that one. So, I don't buy plants from Lowes (which is where the coffee plant was from), or any other places that sell plants en masse. I just hope that you don't have a virus, but you can send a specimen to the ag extension. They don't charge, you just pay for postage. Good luck, hope it's something trivial.

They also get white flies real easy. They can cause damage which later shows up as black soot from the mold that grows secondarily. The easy way to tell is to brush at the plants. You'll see the white flies come off the bush. The treatment is with insecticidal soap, and some horticultural oil applied a few times over 2 weeks.

Hello,

My Gardenia is sick, I'm not sure what it has. I got it about two weeks ago. It makes some spots on her leaves, which first are pale green and then turn brown and get bigger. I cut the infectet leaves but other spots apperar. Today I saw in insect on it..which seemd to de trips. I killed it but might be more. Many leaves also have littled dark spots on their back that appear to be trips excrements. I'm afraid it might also have a virus. Do you know, the spots I mentioned at the begining are caused by trips or also by the virus transported by trips? I don't know if here is any posibility to send leaves anywhere for examination... I'm afraid i'll never see it blooming..
Thanks

i just bought a gardenia and am keeping it inside. i am in maryland. it appears tohave buds and i want to know if it will bloom??/

Eric, your gardenia will bloom if you treat it like dirt, ignore it and then swear at it incessantly while saying you hope it dies. Then it'll bloom for you for years. :D

My Gardenia is still in pot. Not sure if I am overwatering some leaves are turning yellow?

Yellowing leaves can be from just about anything, usually water related.

Only you will be the best judge of that.

Mike