Hi,
I've been lurking here for a few months now and I guess it's time to post a
question.

I have a balcony garden in Mediterranean zone 9. I had two different
coloured dianthus in a pot. They had finished blooming and were deadheaded.
When they started flowering again a few weeks later, I noticed that the red
ones seemed to be having problems that didn't affect the pink ones. They
were not as tall, the blooms looked wilted and faded as soon as they opened
and had no smell, the stems were weak--in fact, some of the blooms were
coming right out of the ground with no stems to speak of. They definitely
looked diseased.

I noticed that some leaves seem to have white squiggles on them, as if
someone had dipped a pen in bleach and then doodled on them. This was more
apparent on the underside, though still visible from the top.

I also found some round balls in the soil that were about 1/2 cm in size, a
yellow-green colour and were easily crushed between the fingers. They were
white inside. I seemed to recall seeing these same things years ago in a
houseplant that wasn't doing well and I really have no idea what they are,
though I suspect some sort of crustacean.

In the meantime, I've separated the two plants as best I could, to see if
the pink ones manage to survive.

Any help appreciated.

Lana