After I posted that last message I glanced out the window ...I swear I could nab four rabbits with one blast of bird-shot! There's just that many.

And you didn't?

I thought of your poor roses the other day when I saw a little bunny under one of mine. I certainly hope they survive and thrive again - roses are pretty tough.

Have you tried sprinkling blood meal around the roses? Since I fertilized the rose bed with blood meal, the hungry bunnies have moved on to tulips.

Thanks, Porkpal. I hope so.

porkpal said:And you didn't?

Nope. All I have on hand are deer slugs (for rogue snapping turtles) and I'd likely miss with those anyway.

CindiKS said:Have you tried sprinkling blood meal around the roses? Since I fertilized the rose bed with blood meal, the hungry bunnies have moved on to tulips.

Yeah, mine are done eating roses for now, too. I've sprayed the tulips here with Plantskyyd. It looks terrible, but I'm testing it out anyway. Blood meal itself wasn't in stock the last time I went shopping for gardening supplies, so I picked up a bag of Milorganite to scatter in the beds instead.

One thing my mom used a LONG long time ago.. it *did* work for a while, was used kitty litter. This is before clumping litter. We used just regular clay litter & would sprinkle it around the perimeter of our garden to keep the bunnies out. It worked for bunnies, but not deer. The deer decimated the garden, but bunnies kept clear. Only problem is that it has to be replaced quite regularly as it will deteriorate & decay into the ground (the clay). I don't know about clumping litter.

I found this article when I did a quick search. I didn't know that beebalm could be classified as a bunny deterrent!

http://www.ifplantscouldtalk.r...
There are few truly rabbit proof plants. If the rabbit population is high and food is scarce, many plants will be on the menu. Some plants will be eaten when young but avoided once mature. There are some plants that rabbits and squirrels will avoid if there are alternative food sources. Some deterrent plants include the following:

Annuals such as Ageratum, Campanula, Impatiens, Forget Me Nots, Scabiosa and Cineraria;

Perennials such as Achilleaa(Yarrow), Amaryllus, Aqualegia(Coral Bells), Artemesia, Aster, Tuberous Begonia, Campanula, Cyclamen, Dahlia, Dicentra (Bleeding Heart), Digitalis (Foxglove), Echinacea (Coneflower), Ferns, Gaillardia, Hemerocallis (Daylilly) Iris, Monarda (Bee Balm) and Verbena.

Groundcovers such as Bougainvillea, Hedera (English Ivy) Lantana, Pachysandra, Solanum (Potato Vine) and Vinca

Shrubs and Herbs include Buddlea( Butterfly Bush), Boxwood, Camellias, Holly, Juniper, Lantana, Lavender, Rhododendron, Rosemary, Salvia, Mexican Sage, Lilac, and Viburnum

That's a good list, Toni.

They never chew on our lilacs, hollies or viburnums in the winter. No matter how scarce food might be.

I don't have bunny problems in my yard. I have squirrels who dig around in the mulch & eat the bird food, but that's about it. I'm pretty lucky that I don't have critters that eat my plants for the most part. I did see LiquidFence at HomeDepot a few days ago and I know that Steve in AZ loves that stuff for a deer deterrent.

Here's what had to come down from this arbor.


Now. After trimming out the deadwood.



Note that there's no huge rose plant behind the old washtub. Pierre de Ronsard, among others, had to clipped down to just above the crown.

I do see some signs of life left on Nahema today. Thank goodness!

Oh my goodness, what a beautiful landscape. *JEALOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!* See? turning green with envy!!

Even without the roses, wow!! How about putting in some Hall's honeysuckle there? Even if it's nibbled to death, you can't kill it & it's evergreen, attracts hummers, grows like a weed, and is evergreen in zone 5!! I had to cut mine down all the way to the ground this year because it was plastered against my house & I'm in the process (this weekend) of getting my house painted (hopefully!). But it's already trying to grow back & I just wacked the crap out of it. That's why I call it my Triffid.

This weekend I'm definitely trimming my roses. I may start that this afternoon when I get home from work. I'll be trimming 90% of them down to the dirt/mulch (again) due to winterkill. Oh well.

Thank you, Toni. But, no. No honeysuckle. I'm still doing continuous battle with some that's trying its best to swallow our yard! It's underneath the floor of another arbor, so it's nearly impossible to kill.

The clematis will (hopefully) fill in that rose arbor nicely this year. It's off to a rip-roaring start this year -thanks to the rain. Last year they struggled since we had no spring rain to speak of following a dry winter.

Yeah, that's just it...as I was cutting everything away I had to groan about all the time I'd spent training those canes! They were chosen specifically for the fact that they'd not suffer winter-kill...so that I could train them!

Oh I love that arbor! Showing it to hubby, want a small version of it.

Tip, Sue? Either have your horizontal strips come down low enough that you're not tempted to sneak under after weeds, or set them higher than your head. I can't tell you how many times I've misjudged and come up under it!

Other than that, it's wearing very well and it's one of my very favorite aspects in the garden.

Ouch, just cringed reading that!

The hares here have pruned some roses!
They seem to access the ones near the sidewalk,
which of course, has to be shovelled in winter.

Oh sorry Caroline!
Chelle your arbor is beautiful! Your whole yard looks great! Clematis should fill all that in in no time at all! I bought several this year, and they're growing so well, I'm surprised!! (I have a cement wall that I'm trying to "hide"!)
Sorry about your rose damage too, hope all will be well!

Thanks, Greg. This winter I'll make certain to protect those plants!



Caroline,

So sorry about your roses! I hope they recover for you.

I guess vigorous rose selections are always in order for those of us with wild *pruners*. I wonder why on some plants they snip off the canes, but don't peel the bark? I just don't get that part at all. Nothing's eaten, it's just tossed on the ground...

Those must have been the icky tasting ones.

porkpal said:Those must have been the icky tasting ones.

Chelle - How are the roses coming along? Seeing any growth? or are they just toast?

They're all still alive at this point, Toni. Thanks for asking!

Nahema is struggling to put out some growth, but it seems to be the worst of the lot.

A couple of examples-

Here's my (previously HUGE ) Pierre de Ronsard. It had canes the size of saplings.


And here's Chloris, growing right on through some of its damaged canes.


Pink Parfait is a single, silly-looking stick. I'm going to leave if for the moment, although it should probably be cut away...it's going to look awfully funny, I think.