Elaine, Your notes on preferences & adored twig items will benefit our planting ideas. One of our "foster kid" bunnies kept him/herself nourished by nibbling on a small bush right next to the house. Next winter I'll provide willow branches and such for the clan to keep their incisors trim (or chicken-wire fence the bush and layout more birdseed & romaine). Thanks for posting what they nibbled - and what they left alone. I wish you the best in your efforts to replace the nibbled-off plants.

There was a time when I cursed the rabbits for chewing down my petunias, asparagus, or crocuses until I added deterrent things. But as I age and see surrounding habitat destroyed, I don't get upset anymore. Funny how priorities change or a person mellows.

My better half created a new brushpile in back of our yard, last Sunday, and today a rabbit scampered out when I walked back there w/our dog. Last nite we observed two rabbits chasing each other, in the same area, like slot-car bunnies! It was really cute to watch.

We do need a good hedgerow and ground cover.

Elaine- What a bummer!!! I know you worked so hard on that shrubrow last spring. I loved reading the updates on how it was growing as your yard sounds like an inspiration. I hope you can salvage something. Is there an way you can protect the young shrubs so the rabbitts can't chew on them?

Elaine,

I know you strive to provide a natural habitat. How can you keep these hungry lagamorphs sated and still have a hedgerow? What next for the ravenous rabbits?

Coyotes and bobcats. Those darn critters keep eating "our" rabbits.

I definitely prefer rabbits over coyotes and bobcats. Our neighbors would hate to see their small dogs disappear!

Go with the ninebark and good luck w/reestablishing your row.

In follow-up to nyrita's post, sounds like a rabbit fence would be a good way to deter the furry gentle lagomorphs. Provide some snapshots if you can of the newly planted suckers. Bunnies need to chew; I know that from the domestic ones I own (And socialize with @ the humane society).

Foster mom to wildlife, furrycritterfan

I long for foxes and hawks, myself. They're both around, but obviously not in large enough numbers. The rabbits in the back don't do much damage because there are so many plants, although of course they will affect the growth of the seedlings and suckers--the next generation. I see many chewed branches and some chewed-off young plants. They also chew through the bittersweet vines, and I think that's helping to keep them under control and prevent them from strangling the young trees. I also make strategic cuts if a tree seems to be too burdened by vines. But mostly I leave everything alone in there.

In going through the woodland carefully (which I must do in spring to pull up approximately 55 million Norway maple seedlings), I noticed a critter dining room. There's an area with bare ground except for gazillions of hazelnut shells, each with a hole in it. Cool. I planted those hazelnuts (and everything else in there as well).

The woodland floor now looks like a real woodland floor--bare, except for seedlings and suckers, moss, large patches of violets, and a few unavoidable weeds. As the trees and shrubs grew up, it got shady, and the grass died (the area was lawn). Now with the violets in bloom it's gorgeous--an unexpected fringe benefit.

I spent Sunday digging up suckers from the back and transplanting them to the front, since I don't have much money for plants this year. I found plenty of stuff to use, but of course the rabbits will do the same thing again. What should I do, wrap the stems in chicken wire? I've got quite a few two- and three-inch-tall chokeberries out there now; this is a slow-growing species, so they'll be very vulnerable again this winter.

I think some of the rabbit damage is habit on their part. In other words, I think they go back to the same plants (like revisiting a familiar restaurant). When I carefully examined my back woodland looking for stuff I could transplant out, I found the three original grey dogwoods I put in there, maybe 8 years ago, before I planted anything else. They were living stumps, obviously repeatedly chewed down to the ground, while all the other plants around them--including some tall, bird-planted grey dogwood--had been left unchewed.

I think I'm going to break down and try to buy one small white flowering dogwood from a nursery, since I have a small island with no central tree now (winter damage, not rabbit nibbling). Of course, the price may send me to the emergency room. And I may not be able to find any C. florida rather than hybrids. Or any small trees.

Nearly 5 years ago, I got the "wild idea" to establish a 5,000 sq. ft. "wildlife area/garden" on my property by adding native shrubs, trees (seedling size right now) and perennials. I mulch the trees/shrubs, keep the "weeds" pulled, and water during dry spells. It seems like practically everything I've put in there gets eaten or shrivels up and dies. The redtwig and grey dogwoods that were supposed to "colonize" are still solitary shrubs, if not chewed down to nubs. Right now, my "wild garden" looks more like a weed patch (or an armory, what with all the chicken wire and hardware cloth around the more rabbit-susceptable plants). I'm about ready to give up and just let it go really wild. From reading all the posts, I know a lot of you have successful wildlife gardens. How long did it take? Any advice, comments are welcome... I'm close to having my husband go through the "garden" with the brush hog.

I can relate to your problems. Although I'm ashamed to admit it, we have euonymous elatus compacta all around our house......and if the winter is particularly snow-covered, they totally eat the bark around the bottoms. We've learned to keep 2' chicken wire in big circles, ready to go in the barn and if the snows stay around too long, we put those around the bushes. It's a real pain. The bunnies definitely prefer the younger trunks......but also chew the older ones, if they're stressed.

Rabbits like Nandina Domestica Heavenly Bamboo too

I forgot to mention that they don't eat elderberry. I'm also keeping my fingers crossed for V. lentago and cranberry bush viburnum. They do eat V. prunifolium. I transplanted many suckers from my other plantings; some are hanging in, some getting chewed. Sometimes they take one of a species and leave others alone. Who knows. Eventually I'll have a nice hedgerow, but it obviously will take longer than I had hoped.

I have a bunch of old wire fencing around. Would it help to fence in my mulched area? I know I have plenty of rabbits that live in our front meadow (about an acre of grass only mowed once a year). I didn't have much damage this winter, but I had only a few larger shrubs that I paid dearly for. They were about 3-4' and multi-stemmed. I bought them from the New England Wildflower Society. I wonder if they didn't get touched because of their size? The shrubs I planted this year are small mostly bareroot stock.

Rabbits seem to eat slender stems of young plants only. Once a stem gets larger and woodier it's safe from them. Now they are eating all the transplanted asters and coneflowers in a newly planted garden plot.

That's what I thought. Let's hope for good growth this summer!

My husband offered to fence the new gardens for me, but I think you have to drive the fencing down a foot below the ground--they dig, after all. So I told him not to bother.

I planted a packet of wildflower seeds 4 years ago and am having trouble controlling the spread of the yarrow (with white flowers, and evergreen). But our resident rabbit has decided it loves yarrow, as well as the johnny-jump ups, which is fine with me! I've been sprinkling Shake-Away (powdered fox urine) around some other things, but letting the rabbit have all the yarrow it wants. This rabbit is quite tame, and lets me get 2-3 feet away to watch it as long as it is surrounded by the wildflower foliage; I know it's the same one every time because it has a sort of pimple on one of its ears. I've had damage other years on young roses and other plants that may have been rabbits or slugs, so I hope this rabbit doesn't change it's tastes.

We plant for wildlife and they come and then we complain because they eat what we've planted.hahaha
I have the same thing, but I have wire fenced certain areas or shrubs to allow those shrubs to grow & eventually support more wildlife. I have some of wildlifes' favorite shrubs fenced and some not. My outlook is that if I'm planting to attract and sustain wildlife then this is what is going to happen. Every couple of years when the shrub has outgrown the round fence I remove it and move the fences to other shrubs. You can get different size wire fencing depending on what you're trying to keep out. I use 4"x2" holes with a height of either three, four or five feet, depending on the project. I attach with rebar poles mainly and have these fenced shrubs everywhere. A couple of the areas I have even covered it over with the same wiring. This allows the advantage of knowing that birds that go in these areas are protected from cats and hawks.
It's just what I've found works for me. I've had a number of people who've visited my yard copy this & do the same thing. They have said it's worked for them as well.

Elaine, you always talk about planting only straight species. Exactly what is a straight species? How does one tell the difference? I know this has nothing to do with your post, but I've been wondering just what it is you mean. I also have never seen anywhere, just a plain old ninebark. Where do you get them and what is the zone for them? Thanks for any help you can give me!
Terry
P.S. I'm sorry your hedgerow got eaten!

A species is a plant as nature made it--not a named variety or a hybrid. They tend to be hard to find because they're not patented as varieties and hybrids are. Hence they're cheaper--so why should a nursery carry them? I want them because they are fertile, will usually go to seed, and produce similar progeny. I always have plenty of plants to make a new garden or to give away. I buy most of my woody plants from Cold Stream Farm in Wisconsin (www.jackpine.com) and most of my perennials from Prairie Nursery, also in Wisconsin (www.prairienursery.com).

Elaine, the problem I find is that sometimes nurseries list a shrub as a straight species, but I thought that was because they don't want to pay the royalty on the patent. I ordered quite a few things from Cold Stream this year. The plants were healthy and they replaced whatever didn't come in good shape. I've said it before, but the NH Nursery was the best deal at about $1.00 per plant. The plants were big and healthy and all species--no hybrids.

Yes--I just bookmarked NH Nursery and I'm sure will order from them next spring, especially since they had a couple of species I've been looking for. I have also used Miller's quite successfully.

Elaine, I know I've been beating that drum a lot, but I got hooked on them last year by reading about them on here. Unfortunately, by the time I found out about them, their season had passed last year. You may want to sign up now for the catalog which they send to you in the winter. I just can't get over the size of the stuff that I got from them. I expected the typical conservation seedlings (miniscule to 1" with tiny root hairs on them). Some of the v. cassinoides that I got from them aren't much smaller than the $22 version that I bought last year from the N.E. Wildflower Society last fall. Anyway, as long as they aren't closed to budget cuts, I'll definitely order more from them next winter. Order early because they did run out of a few things.

I have also gotten lots of other good leads from you. I ordered from Pine Ridge and Cold Stream and Solomon Holly farm. All very good stuff. I love to support small businesses like that.

When I type in www.jackpine.com, I get some business supply place. Am I not doing something right? Thank you for clarifying species vs. hybrid's. And you're right, they are hard to find. Everyplace I've gone to has mostly hybrids, even the ones I think are the straight species would appear to be a hybrid. What is the link for NH Nursery? Thanks again, Terry

Here's the home page for Cold Stream Farm: http://www.jackpine.com/~csf/index.html

Terry, I had a hard time with that web address also. I put the link below. Use that and I know you will find the site. A word of warning though, the order form is difficult to get to print correctly. I tried it in Netscape and then in Internet Explorer (some websites work better in one or the other). Finally, I tried it at work on a Mac and had success. The web site is a bit rough around the edges, but the nursery and plants are good. The address for NH Nursery is: http://www.nhnursery.com/

Here is a link that might be useful: Cold Stream Farm

For Cold Stream you can also request a mail-order catalog, which comes with an order form.

Thanks to the two of you! I notice at the site that there are no zone listings. For instance, on the ninebark, what is the the zone for it? Can it take the heat of zone 7?
Terry

Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) is native throughout the midwest, east to the mid-Atlantic area, and south following the Appalachians to northern Georgia and Alabama. I am relying on Gary Hightshoe's reference work on native woody plants, which gives maps but not zones. The plant is native to the whole eastern half of Tennessee, but not the western half. Hope that helps.

I certainly wouldn't put in any shrubs this late in the season, however--wait until fall.

Why Elaine? I just got done putting in 4 shrubs today. I do supplemental watering. I have to in this heat. Plus I don't know anything that is drought tolerant unless it's established. And even then, in this heat? I've paid too much money to have it curl up and die. (We just moved to TN last July, so all my plantings are since then) We haven't had any rain in 2 weeks, with none in sight. I don't mean to sound like I'm arguing or disagreeing with you, I just wonder what the reason is behind your statement. And thank you for the infor regarding the ninebark. Now, just to find some. I'm in Eastern TN, so it would be native here. I just don't understand the lack of native nurseries in my remote area...
Terry

Shrubs and trees make roots in cool weather. They make wood and leaves and next year's buds in warm weather. So if you plant in early spring or fall, they have the cool season to make the roots they need. If you plant in the summer, you've got a plant trying to withstand heat with a very small root system. It just doesn't make sense. You basically lose the whole year's growth anyway. So wait until fall to buy more plants and to plant them.

Thank you...I guess coming from IL (northern), you can basically plant any time of the year with no ill effects. I've also been doing a search trying to find a source for ninebark and have had no luck at all. Do you know of a source? I will order for this fall.
Again, thanks for answering my questions!
Terry

I got mine from Cold Stream Farm.

Well, I had a gorgeous Allegheny serviceberry that the rabbits just ate every leave off of. They seem to love serviceberry as they have hit almost every one that I have. I will have to cage them all I guess! I figured they'd be okay in the middle of spring and summer with everything else around. Funny, this is the first year that the rabbits have ignored the tomatoes. I guess the serviceberries make much better eating.

forestfarm.com has some cultivars of Physocarpus opulifolius, including Diablo which I've fallen in love with.

Cold Stream Farm at (http://www.jackpine.com/~csf/) lists Ninebark, but since they don't give the Latin name, you might want to doublecheck it really is Physocarpus opulifolius.

Why is it that I can't order from Forestfarm? I think they require a huge minimum order to ship over the Mississippi, but people from the east keep mentioning them. I'm not sure how they get them to ship here.

I am extremely disappointed with almost everything that I received from Cold Stream Farm this year. Some never leafed out and others that did have shrivelled up. Not sure why because I heeled everything in the day it arrived and planted it the following weekend.

Vonyon, they don't require a minimum order. My first order from them was for 5 plants, totaling $67 which I don't think constitutes a "huge minimum order". I had 4 gallons and 1 tube. I don't think that they'll send plants now. They cut off the time, not sure when. They will send if you want it by airmail. That costs about triple what the plant itself costs. They'll start mailing east of the Mississippi again in the fall. They say that it takes up to 12 days (after shipping)to get the plants, but I've gotten them in about 5. They come by FedEx. I also like the customer service, although not a toll free number. I got an American Smoketree, that I knew was not alive when I received it. I called on a Friday, and the owner called me on Mon. He asked me to give it another 2 weeks because theirs were just breaking bud. I did, it didn't, so they sent me a new one with my next order. Their stuff is larger than any mailorder I've ever used, and healthy to boot. The shipping is a little on the expensive side, but I feel it's well worth it when you can't find the plants anywhere else. Or if you can find them, they're so much smaller. I'm sorry you had such rotten luck with Cold Stream Farm. Don't they guarantee the plants?
I think, not sure never done it, but again, I think you can order the stuff now and have it delivered in the fall.
Give them a try. They're definiately worth it!
Terry

Terry, thanks for that info. I wonder if I'm looking at a different Forest Farm. The one that I have a catalog from is in the Northwest either Washington or Oregon--can't remember which. I believe that I called them and they gave me the info on shipping east of the Mississippi. I'll call them again. Everywhere else I ordered from came nice and healthy. They were careful to ship it in packaging that kept things moist. Cold Stream does guarantee, but what a hassle--they can't send me replacements at this point anyway. Their packaging allowed the roots to dry out in shipping, so I'm not surprised that a lot of it didn't make it. I didn't find them really anxious to replace things or maybe it was just my impression. I'll probably get up the guts to call them again soon as some of the plants never leafed out. I don't want them to ship anything right now. I'll wait until the fall. Thanks for the info. I'll check into it again.

vonyon, here's the link to them. You can order from them online. They're in Oregon. Can't remember the name of the town right now. The way they ship the plants, it almost impossible to get the darn things out! The stuff is in there very securely. Each pot has a plastic bag tied to the side, covering the dirt in the pot. The pot has a wet newspaper on top of the soil. Many staples to get out, but it sure does work! The last shipment, looked like someone ran into it, dented on the sides and kinda squashed looking. But everything in in was fine.

On another note, my redbud seems to have an inchworm and mites. It's leaves have turned brown. I was told to spray Neem (I'm sure I spelled that wrong) oil on it. I was told it's safe for all bugs that are good, won't hurt the birds, etc. Anyone have any advise?
Terry

Here is a link that might be useful: Forest Farm

Ninebark from Cold Stream Fram is the species mentioned above.

I wonder how Elaines rabbit gourmet shrubs are doing.

Keep us posted Elaine and everyone. I'm still taking notes on what cottontails are attracted to.

So, are the rabits eating up this years shrubs?

I think there may be fewer rabbits around--less poop on the snow! I didn't replace too much last year--the hedgerow has holes--so what's there may be mostly the plants they don't like. Not much to report.

Well, your hedgerow should be greening up now. Mine is doing very well but we do not have a rabbitt problem here.

I've been digging up suckers of a couple of different viburnums, grey dogwood, and serviceberry to fill in the gaps. Also easy wildflowers like columbine, wood asters, tiarella. And more elderberry--I've got one elderbuerry shrub that's a sucker factory--it's on the border between the woodland and the lawn, and I swear I dig up one sucker from the lawn every other day--I take one, the bush produces another one in the same spot. Have to take advantage of its productive capacity before we start to mow the lawn there. Things seem to be taking well--lots of rain, fewer rabbits. The V. trilobum I put in last year especially is taking off. I do have a BIG woodchuck once again, but it seems to be sticking to prairie plants for its gourmet feasts.

I have a shrub order coming this week and will be extending this hedgerow across the front of the yard, far from the big norway maple that I think it impeding growth right smack in the center of the hedgerow.

Thanks for answering my dogwood concerns. Got some twigs and branches from a cavy/rabbit owner the other day and wanted to doublecheck its toxic status on the web network. Happy to see that wintering wildlife in our yard pruned the cheap eastern cotoneasters purchased from KMart, planted last fall. 'Tis fun watchin the little buds reappear! ~ and glad that someone didn't balk at the discounted goods!