What's eating my clivia?

Clivia grown indoors or in sheltered gardens is most commonly troubled by mealybugs nestled among its dense leaf bases. Outdoors in warmer climates, lily borers (amaryllis borer caterpillars) are the most damaging threat, tunnelling into the bulb. Scale and spider mites can also appear, especially on stressed or dry plants.

White waxy fluff between leaf bases and at roots; leaves yellow and growth stalls. Remove with isopropyl alcohol on a swab; drench soil with diluted neem; repeat every 2 weeks.

Caterpillars tunnel through leaves and into the rhizome, leaving ragged holes and mushy, rotting tissue. Remove and destroy affected leaves; apply Bt or spinosad; destroy caterpillars found in the crown by hand.

Brown bumps along leaf undersides and stems; honeydew and sooty mould on foliage. Scrape off manually; treat with horticultural oil or neem oil spray; repeat applications every 10 days.