What's eating my pelargonium 'bird dancer'?

Pelargonium 'Bird Dancer', a dwarf stellar type, is most often targeted by aphids on its compact, densely-packed shoot tips. Its small size makes it easy for aphid colonies to establish rapidly. Caterpillars, vine weevil, and spider mites in hot weather are the next most likely problems to watch for.

Tight colonies on shoot tips; the compact growth habit of dwarf stellars allows infestations to establish quickly. Inspect compact growth regularly; use a fine water spray or cotton swab with rubbing alcohol; apply insecticidal soap.

Holes in leaves and flowers; may sever flower stems of this small-growing cultivar. Pick off by hand; apply Bt spray early in the season before larvae are large; check leaf undersides.

Pale stippling and fine webbing on undersides of leaves in dry, hot conditions. Increase humidity around plants; spray water on leaf undersides; apply insecticidal soap or predatory mites.

Larvae devastate roots of container-grown plants; a dwarf plant can be killed faster than a larger specimen. Use nematode drench annually; check purchased plants for white grubs before potting on.