What's eating my pelargonium 'happy thought'?

Pelargonium 'Happy Thought', a butterfly-zonal geranium with distinctive cream-centred leaves, is primarily troubled by aphids on shoot tips and vine weevil attacking pot-grown roots. Geranium sawfly and caterpillars can cause leaf damage outdoors. The bright leaf markings make pest-related distortion and sooty mould especially noticeable.

Colonies on soft growth; curled, sticky leaves; honeydew leads to sooty mould disfiguring the decorative foliage. Blast with water; apply insecticidal soap or neem oil spray; encourage beneficial insects such as hoverflies.

Sudden wilting of entire plant; white grubs found eating root ball. Apply Steinernema kraussei nematodes in late summer; inspect and replace compost annually.

Characteristic skeletonising of leaves, leaving translucent papery patches. Hand-pick larvae from undersides of leaves; apply spinosad or pyrethrum spray if infestation is heavy.