What's eating my pompon dahlia 'jowey mirella'?

Pompon Dahlia 'Jowey Mirella' is susceptible to earwigs, aphids, and thrips like all dahlias. The tight pompon flower form actually traps earwigs particularly well, making them an especially damaging pest on this cultivar. Slugs attack the base. Inspect flowers with a torch after dark and set earwig traps from the first flush onward.

Tightly packed pompon petals shelter earwigs, which chew irregular holes through the bloom and disfigure the spherical form. Place rolled-newspaper traps at the base of each stake; shake individual flowers over a tray of soapy water; remove debris around plants.

Soft colonies on shoot tips and leaf undersides; honeydew and sooty mould reduce vigour and make plants sticky. Remove by hand or water jet early; apply insecticidal soap or neem oil spray; attract hoverflies with nearby open-flowered herbs.

Silvery or bronzed streaking on petals and leaves; tiny fast-moving insects visible inside flowers; blooms brown at the edges. Apply spinosad or a systemic insecticide in severe cases; use blue sticky traps for early detection; avoid overhead watering which stresses plants.

Holes in emerging stems and young leaves near soil; worst in cool wet springs when tubers are just sprouting. Use iron phosphate pellets around each plant; place copper tape on pot rims; handpick after dark with a torch.