Hot Lips

Pests & beneficial insects

🐛 Prone to: Aphids

Aphids

Aphididae

Curled leaves, sticky honeydew and ants on patrol — usually with something already eating them.

.

Attract Hoverflies

Hoverflies

Syrphidae

The adults only drink nectar. It is the larvae that eat the aphids.

, Lacewings

Lacewings

Chrysopidae

Golden-eyed adults that mostly drink; larvae that hunt like small alligators.

, Ladybugs

Ladybugs

Coccinellidae

The one predator here where the adults hunt as hard as the larvae do.

, Parasitic wasps

Parasitic wasps

Braconidae, Ichneumonidae and relatives

Pinhead-sized, stingless, and lethal to aphids and caterpillars from the inside.

to keep them in check — plant African MarigoldGreat, AngelicaFair and AniseGood nearby.

🌼 Beneficial companion — draws Hoverflies

Hoverflies

Syrphidae

The adults only drink nectar. It is the larvae that eat the aphids.

, Parasitic wasps

Parasitic wasps

Braconidae, Ichneumonidae and relatives

Pinhead-sized, stingless, and lethal to aphids and caterpillars from the inside.

that help control Aphids

Aphids

Aphididae

Curled leaves, sticky honeydew and ants on patrol — usually with something already eating them.

,

on neighbouring plants.

Growing from seed

Start Hot Lips indoors about 8 weeks before your last frost. Seeds usually come up in around 21 days. Move seedlings out once the danger of frost has passed, in full sun, spaced about 60 cm apart. Expect the first blooms in roughly 100 days.

Hot Lips seed rarely stays viable beyond a year — track what's still worth sowing.

Companion Planting

• 
  Gai Lan
  

  Gai LanExcellent pair

  • ❧Gai Lan attracts Hoverflies and Parasitic wasps, which prey on the Aphids and Caterpillars and more that attack Hot Lips
  • ❧Gai Lan suppresses pests that trouble Hot Lips
  • ❧Gai Lan acts as living mulch, keeping soil moist and weeds down around Hot Lips
• 
  Coral Bells
  

  Coral BellsExcellent pair

  • ❧Coral Bells attracts Hoverflies and Parasitic wasps, which prey on the Aphids that attack Hot Lips
  • ❧Hot Lips draws Bees and Bumblebees and more that improve pollination for both
  • ❧Coral Bells acts as living mulch, keeping soil moist and weeds down around Hot Lips
• 
  Crimson Clover
  

  Crimson CloverExcellent pair

  • ❧Crimson Clover attracts Ladybugs and Parasitic wasps and more, which prey on the Aphids that attack Hot Lips
  • ❧Crimson Clover fixes nitrogen in the soil that Hot Lips feeds on
  • ❧Crimson Clover acts as living mulch, keeping soil moist and weeds down around Hot Lips

How to grow Hot Lips

1. Sow8 weeks before frost
2. Germinates21 days
3. Space60 cm apart
4. GrowFull sun
5. Harvest~100 days

Water: Low · Height: 90 cm · Soil: Well-draining, sandy — drought-tolerant