Whats eating the tops of my tulips??
Prettypetals_GA_7-8
13 years ago
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Donna
13 years agoRelated Discussions
Any small tulips which voles & squirrels won't eat?
Comments (14)There are a few of the (much tougher) species tulips you might like to try. Firstly, the tiny t.humilis, in various colours. Taller, but lovely with blooms which open flat like little flying saucers - tulipa clusiana, aka the lady tulip - pink and white or pale yellow and soft red. T,Tarda - small yellow and white, very easy and will increase T.batalini - my favourites (apart from sprengeri - more later) - lovely glaucous foliage and pale yellow or apricot blooms - very reliable T.praestans, t.hageri, t.vvedensky (sp?) - all reds and oranges - often multi-headed, larger fatter leaves T,urumiensis - a tiny bronze and pale yellow. T,albo-caerulea - expensive but unique blue and white blooms Finally, my favourite (and last to bloom) the lovely t.sprengeri. These use root droppers to dig themselves 14inches deep into the soil and have tiny bulbs - unlikely to be eaten and are the only tulips which will grow in some shade. A lovely woodland clearing specimen. I find that the species tulips, as long as they get good drainage and a dry baking in summer, are totally reliable, easy and are often less devoured by other rodents....as well as being more interesting and unusual than the garden tulips (although I grow many of both)....See MoreWhat's eating the tops of my dahlias?
Comments (22)Well, I've lost a dahlia to a much more easily identified suspect - DH! He feels really badly about it. I had too many tubers for the space I planned, so I popped one in the ground in the yard near a Gardenia that is still small this year, and he didn't know it was there (despite the 4'tall stake right next to it). I was told after this incident that fluorescent tags should now be applied to any new plants not contained in clearly marked and bordered beds. Ha Ha. He reduced it to 4" stalks with no foliage using the weed whacker. I'm hoping that it recovers, but I'm not going to hold my breath...just thought you guys would get a laugh out of this one. He's cuter than the squirrel in the photo, so I'm going to let him live....See MoreWhat is eating the top leaves of my bean plants?
Comments (3)Damage that severe - and that widespread - would most likely be deer or a woodchuck. Both will leave bare stems. If your fence is too high for deer to jump over (at least 6 feet high) then I would look for a hole under your fence. I am battling a woodchuck right now; in the past, live trapping has been effective. Which reminds me to go check my trap... I had to reset it yesterday when I caught a possum....See MoreWhat's eating off the tops of my hollyhocks?
Comments (4)My vote is for squirrels -- they are acrobatic enough to hang upside down underneath your deck with their little rodent claws and enjoy your hollyhock buds at their leisure. I had the same problem one year with sunflowers I had planted against a fence. Heartbreaking. These happened to be potted sunflowers, so once I moved them two feet away from the fence, the problem was solved. This probably won't help you this year, but maybe you could plant them farther away from the deck next time? Worth a shot, anyway....See Moreluvahydrangea
13 years agogoren
13 years agoPrettypetals_GA_7-8
13 years agoDonna
13 years agoPrettypetals_GA_7-8
13 years agoGreenSC
10 years agoMatt
10 years ago
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