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Do rabbits eat peonies?

10 years ago

I've been thinking of replacing some of my roses with peonies. The rabbits have been eating my roses and killing them off and I was hoping that they wouldn't eat the peonies. But I don't want to plant an expensive tree peony only to find out it was a rabbit's snack. I might plant a less expensive herbaceous peony in the area with the most rabbit activity. What do you recommend?

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KarenPA_6b

10 years ago

The rabbits in my area do not appear to be interested in peonies. They have nibbled on my roses to bare canes but seem to leave my peonies plants intact. They do not seem to care for dahlias or daylilies either. You should consider planting Itoh peonies because they grow faster than tree peonies, the canes are sturdy and the flowers bloom for an extended period due to the buds opening at different time. The shrub has a nice form with interesting foliage and the flowers are huge. Monrovia has a nice selection of itoh peonies.

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Comments (7)

peony05
10 years ago
I think they do, and I suspected it was a rabbit who nibbled one of my itoh peony root to death this spring because I see them once in a while in our backyard.
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KarenPA_6b
10 years ago
i am sorry to hear that you lost an Itoh peony to the rabbits, Peony05. There is a couple of rabbits in my development but they did not seem to care for peonies. They chewed my tulip and roses though.
peony05
10 years ago
Yes unfortunately this peony I planted was not planted deep enough. So during early spring the root pieces was a bit expose in the ground surface. However, I do not think they eat the stem as most of my growing peony now are untouched. Maybe rabbit eat the roots section of the plant but not the stem.
lizbest1
10 years ago
There are large numbers of deer, rabbits and wild turkeys in my area and I've never had anything eat my peonies; seem to be one of the few plants they won't touch....
terrene
10 years ago
Nothing has ever nibbled on my Peonies either. There are much tastier things in the gardens!
christripp
10 years ago
Last year a mama rabbit made a nest for her babies behind my Clematis, which is right beside two of my Peonies. No nibbling happened and I'm thinking she had good opportunity if so inclined.
So, don't think they enjoy Peonies. Funny thing, the nest was only 10' away from my vegetable garden and nothing got eaten in there either. She seemed to only be interested in grass on my side of the fence and my neighbours cedars on the other side. The squirrels seem to like cedar bark too, wonder what's so tasty about them?

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