What's eating my gunnera manicata?

Giant gunnera is most troubled by slugs and snails, which shred the enormous emerging leaves in spring. Aphids colonize stems in summer. In rural gardens deer and rabbits may nibble young crowns. The plant's sheer size makes it resilient to most pest damage once fully established.

Large ragged holes and slime trails on young unfurling leaves and soft new stems in spring; can devastate emerging crowns. Apply iron phosphate pellets around the crown in early spring; use nematode treatments (Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita) in moist soil; hand-pick at dusk.

Dense colonies on leaf undersides and stems, causing sticky honeydew residue and sooty mold; leaf edges may curl. Knock off with a strong water jet; introduce or encourage aphid predators such as ladybugs and hoverflies; insecticidal soap for persistent colonies.

Adult notches leaf margins; grubs feed on roots and the crown, causing wilting or plant collapse, most damaging in container-grown specimens. Apply vine weevil nematodes (Steinernema kraussei) to moist soil in late summer or early autumn; remove adult weevils by torchlight at night.