You have my sympathy--and a suggestion. I have had great luck with a spray called Invisible Fence for both deer and bunnies. Have not had a woodchuck in recent years to test it on. There may be other sprays that work but this is the one I have been using.

Thanks for the spray suggestion. I'll look for it and add it to my arsenal.

Would you happen to know how to deadhead a Liatris Spicata?

Thanks again.

Bless your heart. I know all too well how you feel when critters undo hours and hours of work in such a short time.

If you have erected a fence, how tall is it? They say 8 feet is the height you need to keep deer out. We don't have woodchucks in the south, but we do have armadillos. It is recommended here that when you put up a critter fence, you dig a trench at the base of the fence and put more fencing wire underground (a foot or two deep) that stops them from digging under. You could probably find specfics for dealing with woodchucks on the internet.

With regard to your liatris, I would not cut it back. I would leave what bloom stalks are left and let them grow or die, or whatever they are going to do. You don't have anything to lose, and who knows? Maybe you'll get at least a few blooms. Once the spikes have bloomed out or begin to wither, then cut just the stalk down near the base of the plant. Leave the foliage to continue to grow and hopefully spread so you'll have even more blooms next year. Makes you sympathetic with Cubs fans, doesn't it? Chin up! Keep working at it, and it will be all the sweeter when it finally comes together.

Thank you for letting me know what to do with Liatris stalks.

Every time my father looks at my collection of critter repellant sprays he thinks it's funny to comment, "Gee, glad we don't have to worry about any 'armadillas' getting our bushes". And you really have them!

Believe it or not the individual fence circles my father puts around his rose bushes work better than trying to enclose the entire Butterfly Garden. As soon as the Russell Lupine Hybrids (which haven't bloomed to date) started to throw out foliage they started to be eaten so we put a rabbit fence "cage" around it. Same with the echinacea. Now only the foliage that grows outside the fence circle gets eaten. This morning we're making rabbit fence circles for all the plants that were ravished by a critter. That's New England Aster, New York Aster, Great Blue Lobelia, Liatris Spicata, Gaillardia, Coreopsis Grandiflora and Coreopsis Moonbeam.

Late this afternoon when I finished trimming all the boxwood and hollies along his driveway I came in to rest but looked out toward the butterfly garden because I thought I saw a yellow butterfly flitting away from the garden. As I'm looking I see a glaring absence of more Liatris foliage and ran out there. Little buggers got another plant but at least left 1 bud.

Everyone thinks I'm crazy and wasting my time trying to grow anything but boxwood and yellow "sundrops" which no one nibbles but I became obsessed with making this Butterfly Garden in memory of my late Mom and things just spiraled out of control around the rest of his property with other little gardens. She loved her "flutterbies" as she called them everytime she saw one.

I have no idea what I thought I was going to do with over 50 Cosmos seedlings but glad I had the extras when the first ones I planted out where eaten to nubs...LOL. The winter sowing forum got me so excited I went overboard on sowing things (a lot of spring sowing) without enough room to plant them out. Now I've got water hungry containers of every size and shape all over the place with little plants that need attention! I was reduced to raiding my recycling center for perfectly good nursery pots people had discarded that I washed out with bleach and spray painted burgundy so they'd match the doors on Dad's house since he didn't want it looking like a farm nursery around his house.

I'm lucky my Dad let me have the run of his yard to have a chance to garden at all since I live in a condo but spend so much time here with him I needed the diversion. Saturday I finally had all my little seedlings and other gardening paraphenalia out of the garage so he can put his car back in there as he was getting testy about his car getting full of pine needles, bird droppings and plain old dirt for the last few months!

But, hey, the Cubs won a game Friday so hope springs eternal!

I can't wait til July-October when most of the butterfly plants bloom. The monarda, yarrow and milkweed buds are just starting to open and the colors are going to be glorious. I'd just be so excited if I saw the milkweed, dill, parsley or fennel being eaten cause then there'd be a chance a butterfly laid some eggs and the caterpillars were eating them up! I'll be out there with a magnifying glass checking for them...LOL.

Thanks for giving me the boost I needed, Donna.

Leslie

Liquid Fence really does work -- at least it has for me. Other things I've found that work are ground red pepper sprinkled directly on the plant, and fox urine sprinkled on the ground around them. I get the fox urine from the hunting supply section at discount stores like Walmart - it's way less expensive that the stuff they sell in the garden area. The fox urine seems to keep the racoons away as well. They weren't eating the plants, just playing in the flower beds and squashing things. Good luck :).

newbie, thanks for the idea about the little chicken wire fences. I may end up needing it. I was just out on my front porch and scared THREE bunnies out of my streetside perennial border. Oh, how I hope I scared them enough that they won't come back. Just what I need....more critters to fight....