What's eating my flowering coleus?

Mealybugs are the top threat to coleus, colonising stems and leaf axils and weakening the plant rapidly. Spider mites cause stippling and bronzing in warm, dry conditions. Aphids and whitefly gather on tender new growth outdoors. Slugs damage young transplants at the soil line. Early intervention with insecticidal soap or neem oil keeps most outbreaks under control.

Fluffy white wax clusters in leaf axils and along stems; sticky honeydew; leaves yellow and growth stalls. Remove with alcohol-dipped cotton swab; spray with insecticidal soap or neem oil, covering all axils. Quarantine affected plants from other houseplants.

Fine pale stippling across leaf surfaces; webbing on undersides in severe cases; leaves may curl and brown. Increase humidity and mist foliage; apply neem oil or miticide to undersides of leaves. Repeat every five days for at least three treatments.

Colonies on soft new shoot tips and flower buds; distorted growth and sticky residue. Knock off with a water spray; apply insecticidal soap. Pinch out the most heavily colonised shoot tips.

Clouds of tiny white insects take flight when foliage is disturbed; nymphs on leaf undersides cause yellowing. Use yellow sticky traps to monitor; apply insecticidal soap or neem oil to leaf undersides repeatedly at weekly intervals.