What's eating my achimenes 'tarantella'?

Achimenes 'Tarantella' is an indoor tuberous plant with deep violet flowers. Aphids readily colonise its soft growing tips and flower buds. Spider mites can build up rapidly in dry conditions. As a seasonal grower that goes dormant, pest monitoring is especially important at the start of each growing season when new shoots emerge.

Clusters of tiny insects on emerging shoots and buds; honeydew residue and ant activity near the plant; distorted new growth that fails to develop normally. Remove manually or wash off with a directed water stream. Apply insecticidal soap spray every 5–7 days. Check for and control ants, which protect aphid colonies from predators.

Pale stippling and bronze discolouration on leaves; very fine webbing at growing tips; rapid multiplication in warm, dry indoor air during summer. Raise humidity around the plant. Spray insecticidal soap or neem oil onto all surfaces — especially leaf undersides — weekly for three to four weeks to break the mite cycle.

White cottony masses at leaf axils and stem nodes; affected shoots grow weakly; sticky honeydew may become colonised by sooty mould. Dab colonies with a cotton swab soaked in 70% isopropyl alcohol. Apply neem oil spray repeatedly every 7–10 days for three to four cycles until clear.