Question
I HAVE A GARDENIA PLANT WHICH HAS SOME WHITE GROWTHS ON THE STEMS. THE WHITE BUBBLE LIKE THINGS ARE THE CONSISTENCY OF PUTTY OR SPACKLING. INSIDE THERE IS A RED PUDDING LIKE STUFF. IT IS ONLY ON ONE OF THREE PLANTS I HAVE. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS AND WHAT IS THE CURE?

Answer
These sound like a soft scale. These are insect that suck the plant juices form the plant. Soft scales, family Coccidae, can be smooth, cottony, or waxy and are 1⁄4 inch long or less. They are usually larger and more rounded and convex than armored scales. Their surface is the actual body wall of the insect and cannot be removed. Soft scales feed in the fluid-conducting phloem tissue of the plant and excrete abundant honeydew, which is sugary water that drips from their bodies. Soft scales include black scale, brown soft scale, European fruit lecanium scale, and various Pulvinaria species.
They can be controlled with a systemic insecticide called Bayer Advanced Tree and Shrub Insect control. This is applied in the spring to the soil around the plant and the roots take the insecticide to the leaves and twigs and when the scale feeds on the plant juices it is killed. This can be found in nursery/garden type stores.  Here is a web link to more information on this insecticide.  http://www.bayeradvanced.com/product/Tree-Shrub-Insect-Control/concentrate.html