There are no snails where I live, but slugs will eat corn leaves on very small plants, so you may or may not have a problem. However, once plants get a bit taller and the corn leaves get tougher, the slugs lose interest in climbing so high for such tough foliage. But even on small plants, the damage is minor. Corn leaves are very fibrous and slugs seem unable or unwilling to actually chew thru these fibers. They much prefer tender, fleshy foliage.

That's a nymphal grasshopper or katydid or something in that family. I read about your recipe....be careful that it doesn't burn the plant tissues, especially when the sun gets on them. Look for tiny aphids clustered (and not moving) on the new stems and leaves. They may be green, yellow, brown, pink, etc.

Dayna, Slugs and snails leave large ragged holes that have a characteristic givaway "look." After a while, you can "just tell" if the pests are slugs or snails. Pictures in an insect book that show slug damage might ring a bell for you. At any rate, slugs and snails love hostas for their low growing broad leaves. And sometimes slugs are so small and nearly transparent so that they are hard to see. Perhaps they are your phantoms, especially, since they are very active at night, and they don't always leave a slime trail. I hope you catch the culprits--whatever they are. --Bunn

Hi, I'm far from being a pro at this but I live in the Bay Area and have the same temp drops sometimes. I was told to pull the plants in when temps drop to the low 40s but the nursery in Hawaii where I shipped one home from said to pull them in below the 50s! So far they have withstood a few low 40s nights but I don't have any flowers yet. Three of mine are rooted and 5 are cuttings I started in late June. I do have buds on one of the rooted plants, but because of the fog layer in the morning and not a whole lot of heat this summer (I'm assuming here) they are yet to bloom. And the two I bought at a local nursery here have spider mites too. Wrinkled leaves and little webs, etc. I have sprayed them once and will spray them again a week later with a mild insecticidal soap (made for all kinds of plants including veggies). I have also been spraying them with water under the leaves, but it's no jet spray, just set on shower. Hope this helps, someone more knowledgeable may come along and say something completely opposite, but this seems to be working so far anyway. Good luck, Leslie