What's eating my dragon arum?

Dragon arum (Dracunculus vulgaris) is a striking Mediterranean garden aroid. Slugs and snails are the chief pest, attacking the glossy divided leaves and spathe base. Aphids cluster on the peduncle. Its carrion-scented spathe may attract blowflies, which are pollinators rather than pests. Deer generally avoid it.

Large ragged holes chewed in the elaborately divided leaves and spathe base as they unfurl in spring. Apply iron-phosphate pellets generously around emerging shoots; use damp-soil traps; hand-pick after dark.

Dense colonies on the flower peduncle and leaf petioles; sticky honeydew; possible sooty mould development. Blast off with a jet of water; apply neem oil or insecticidal soap; repeat weekly until colonies disappear.

Adult beetles notch leaf margins; white grubs hollow out the large corm underground causing sudden collapse. Drench soil with Steinernema kraussei nematodes in late summer; inspect corms during autumn lifting.