I like bunnies. Cute, furry little creatures, I like watching them crouch under the bushes by my office hiding behind a wall of snow. Let’s correct that. I used to like bunnies. Now it’s war.
Do you see the double row of glorious, happy colored nasturtiums? No? Neither do I, at least not now! There used to be be two rows full of nasturtiums blooming their heads off, lavished by sunshine.
A Whole Row of Gloriously Colored Nasturtiums Before the Bunnies
Then half of one row disappeared. Hmm, thought I, I wonder whether they dried up? Then the rest of that row disappeared and a couple plants in the end row. Now I was curious. What was killing my nasturtiums?
Here is the next clue. This used to be a thriving peony. I moved parts of about 18 peonies from our old house and when I planted them in their permanent home last fall the 18 somehow multiplied to 30. And this spring there were another 13 in their temporary pre-garden quarters waiting to move home. I didn’t think anything ate peonies. But here you see the evil damage: Peony stems chewed off at the base.
This Had Been a Thriving Peony
I still was not sure, but this was beginning to look like rabbit damage. I am still puzzled that they are eating the base of the stem and leaving the nice soft leaves alone. What do you think? Are they trying to get to the root?
Peony Munchies Rabbit Snack Food
Zinnias make more sense as bunny food. Succulent leaves, tender and shaded, I wasn’t surprised to see this. Our old house was out of town too and we always lost a few plants to the rabbits.
Zinnias, Food for Bunnies
Losing a zinnia or two doesn’t bother me. Losing an entire crop of nasturtiums bothers me. Losing peonies! Now we are talking serious. And here is the clincher. My Mom’s peony.
Mom loved peonies but they struggled in her Colorado garden – lots of sun but cold nights and insufficient water made life borderline. My sister gave her several peonies and only this one survived. It had stopped blooming a year or two before she died and the plant was slowly fading away. When I closed the house five years ago I moved most of the perennials, including this plant. It hung on in our old garden, each year gaining a little life back, and this year it was almost as big as the others and looked healthy. I had great hopes it would bloom next year.
Now? I don’t know whether the root is still alive. I hope so.
This Means War! My Mom’s Peony Destroyed
First one stalk, then the others. (The green stuff around the hole is a nasty weed that I took care of this past weekend, a subject for another post.) Bunny Wars!
What do you do to remove bunnies? I don’t want to kill them, but heavens. We have a huge field behind the fenced part of our yard, 5 acres that is ours and another several hundred acres that belong to neighbors. Why can’t the rabbits find something there to eat? It’s full of grass and prairie plants, lots of yummy things.
Dave bought two things we hope will encourage Mr. and Mrs. Rabbit to move. This plastic hawk is big, about 14 inches tall and mounts on a pole. The theory is bunnies are afraid of hawks, they see this and flee. We’ll see.
Dave tried a variety of stinky things to keep animals out of the garden. Most of them are made from things like dried fox urine, so they smell nasty, even to us dim-nosed humans. He sprayed several times and we still had bunny feasts.
This is the next one he will try. It’s based on capsaicin, the ingredient in red pepper that makes it hot. The plant absorbs it and tastes bad. The reviews on Amazon are mostly positive. He didn’t realize you have to poke a hole by each plant and put granules in one-by-one vs. a spray, but the good thing is you should not have to reapply umpteen times every summer. (And if you get this on your hands you won’t smell ghastly.)
At this point we haven’t put these out so I can’t report whether they work. I do know that we use blood meal around tiny annuals each spring and that helps, so rabbits can be deterred. It’s just a matter of finding the right thing to do it, preferably before more precious peonies become rabbit salad.
Legal Stuff: the links to Amazon are affiliate links meaning I get a small commission if you purchase something.
Leave a Reply