What's eating my caladium white christmas?

Caladium 'White Christmas' is a tropical bulb grown indoors or as a summer annual. Thrips are the primary pest, scarring the luminous white leaves badly. Spider mites attack in dry air, and mealybugs colonise the petioles. Outdoors in summer, aphids and caterpillars may also damage the thin foliage. Inspect new growth closely.

Silver-bronze streaks and tiny dark frass specks on the white leaf panels; leaves distort and edges brown. Remove badly damaged leaves, apply spinosad or insecticidal soap spray weekly for 4 weeks, and use blue or yellow sticky traps.

Pale stippling across the delicate white leaf tissue; fine webbing on undersides; leaves yellow quickly. Increase humidity, shower the plant, and spray with insecticidal soap or neem oil every 5–7 days.

Cottony deposits on petioles and where leaves join the stem; slow growth and sticky honeydew. Dab with a 70% isopropyl alcohol swab and follow up with neem oil spray. Repeat every 10 days.

Clusters on new growth and undersides of leaves (most common when grown outdoors in summer); leaves curl. Blast off with a strong jet of water, then apply insecticidal soap spray. Repeat as needed.