What's eating my pink surprise calendula?

Pink Surprise calendula (Calendula officinalis 'Pink Surprise') is most threatened by aphids, which flock to its soft flower stalks and buds. Slugs and snails target seedlings and young plants. Whitefly can be troublesome in polytunnel or greenhouse production. Rabbits occasionally nibble calendula foliage in open kitchen gardens.

Colonies of green or black aphids on stems and buds; honeydew, sooty mould, and flower distortion. Blast with water; apply insecticidal soap or neem oil; use yellow sticky traps to monitor populations.

Seedling stems cut through at soil level; holes in leaves of established plants after wet weather. Apply iron phosphate pellets; use grit or eggshell mulch; water in the morning so soil dries by dusk.

Tiny white insects fly up when foliage is disturbed; honeydew and sooty mould coat leaves. Introduce Encarsia formosa parasitic wasp in protected growing; hang yellow sticky traps; spray with insecticidal soap.

Foliage and young stems nipped off cleanly, especially in raised beds or borders adjacent to open ground. Erect wire-mesh guards around plants; apply rabbit repellent spray around the bed perimeter.