What's eating my ornamental oregano?

Ornamental oregano hybrids (Origanum x hybridum) are grown as much for their colourful bracts as their fragrance. Aphids and spider mites are the most frequent pests; leafhoppers and thrips can scar leaves and flowers in warm summers. The ornamental bracts attract pollinators, and the same open conditions that suit pollinators also help beneficial pest predators.

Colonies on new shoot tips and around decorative bracts; honeydew deposits and minor distortion of growing points Spray insecticidal soap or neem oil; attract hoverflies and parasitic wasps by growing companion umbellifers; rarely needs more than one treatment

Pale speckling and fine webbing on leaf undersides; leaves bronze and drop in severe cases, worst in dry summers Mist foliage and ensure adequate moisture; apply neem oil spray; introduce predatory mites in enclosed spaces

Silvery streaks and flecking on leaves and bracts; deformed growing tips; tiny black frass specks visible on leaf surfaces Apply spinosad or insecticidal soap; use blue sticky traps to monitor numbers; remove infested bracts and foliage