Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
leafwatcher

What one smallish rabbit can do in a couple days.

leafwatcher
10 years ago

This isn't all the damage, but the best picture representing it ! There is a second Sagae it hit, and it also ate the flower off of my Liberty..

This goes to show what can happen in just two days, once a rabbit decides he likes something...

Comments (9)

  • flower_frenzy
    10 years ago

    Wow, leaf, what a bummer! It always amazes me what kind of damage little critters can do! I've never been able to grow a single tulip in my backyard because the squirrels dig up the bulbs and eat them. Now I have 2 big dogs, and nothing ever makes it past my fence line! ;)

    You'd think that 2 large dogs would do a lot of damage to a garden, but I find that it's the rodents that do the most.

    This post was edited by flower-frenzy on Wed, Jul 17, 13 at 16:27

  • summersunlight
    10 years ago

    That's really a bummer! In my yard, the rabbits ignore the hosta but go nuts for liatris. I have found that applying Liquid Fence often (after each rainstorm) helps.

  • WILDernessWen
    10 years ago

    Leaf, That sucks! I feel your pain dude. WW

  • MadPlanter1 zone 5
    10 years ago

    Ouch. We have a bunny infestation this year, too. I have big wire baskets over the youngest ones. Oddly enough, they don't bother the ones with the cheap little folding wire fence around them. The fences were there to keep the turkeys from digging - those claws can really shred a hosta. The fence has big gaps a rabbit could hop right through, but so far they haven't touched anything inside the fences.

    Yours are already in love with your hostas, so it might not work, but you could try it. I think you can get six foot circle for about $5.00.

  • hostanista
    10 years ago

    Flower-Frenzy:
    Re squirrels eating your tulip bulbs. When my neighbour saw me planting over 300 in various new beds last fall, he smirked and said I'd lose them to squirrels. He'd been living here 30 years and gave up on tulips. Well, he was wrong - they pretty much all came up and were beautiful. My secret? I plant them at least a foot deep. Not 4 inches, not 6 inches, not 8 inches. At least 12, some are even deeper. Sure, it takes them a little longer to show themselves but (I guess) by that time, the squirrels have already had their fill at other properties. I think that after they've dug down 5 or 6 inches and find nothing, they move on. Worked for me.

    This post was edited by Hostanista on Wed, Jul 17, 13 at 23:42

  • flower_frenzy
    10 years ago

    Thanks for the tip, Hostanista. You've given me some hope! BTW...gorgeous tulip display!!

    This post was edited by flower-frenzy on Thu, Jul 18, 13 at 3:38

  • trudy_gw
    10 years ago

    Sorry about all your rabbit damage leafwatcher. Have you tried Milorganite to deter the rabbits?

    Lowes or Menards carrys it and its around $12 a bag, which goes a long ways. Dont have to use much, just sprinkle around the plants. Rabbits hate the smell and so do deer. It's part of our program to deter both, along with Liquid Fence. We alternate both.

    Our grass is starting to go dormant but not the clover which is now blooming. Every night we see rabbits in the clover. If the rabbits would just eat the clover we would all get along. Just dont eat my hosta scapes........!

    Store the Milorganite in a bucket with a lid as the smell is not pleasant! Buy a 5 gallon bucket with a lid at the same time when purchasing Milorganite if you dont have one, as trust me you will need it!

  • leafwatcher
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I may have to get some of that, I actually have a friend that lives near here that has mentioned it also.

  • mosswitch
    10 years ago

    A commercial bulb grower once told me that tulips planted at least a foot deep would not "run out" and would last for many years in your garden.The reason? Tulips planted too shallowly
    (at the recommended depth) would get too warm, divide quickly, and the smaller bulbs wouldn't bloom for years or would just be gone the next year.

    I have clumps of tulips, after following this advice, that have been blooming faithfully for over 20 years.

    Sandy