What's eating my zantedeschia 'flame'?

Zantedeschia 'Flame', a vivid orange-red calla lily, is vulnerable to aphids attacking fleshy stems and spathes, slugs damaging emerging shoots, and thrips scarring the decorative flowers. Vine weevil is a risk in container-grown plants. Warm, sheltered planting sites can accelerate aphid and thrips build-up, so check plants weekly during the growing season.

Soft colonies on stems and spathe undersides; honeydew drip and sooty mould; distorted leaf and spathe development Apply insecticidal soap or neem oil spray; encourage natural predators; use a systemic insecticide if infestations persist across multiple plants

Silver-brown streaking and rasping damage on spathes, reducing ornamental value; faint stippling on leaf surfaces Spray with spinosad or insecticidal soap; remove heavily scarred spathes; use blue sticky traps to monitor and catch adults

Holes eaten in new leaves and damage at the base of emerging spathes; slime trails on compost and lower stems Use iron phosphate slug pellets; hand-pick at night; apply a gravel mulch or copper barrier around container rims

Grubs destroy rhizomes from inside, causing sudden wilting; adults create scalloped notches on leaf margins Drench pots with Steinernema kraussei nematodes in late summer; inspect and discard affected rhizomes when lifting plants in autumn