As we inch slowly toward winter , it ’s time to put away your garden puppet and protect your plants from scavengers . For suburban and urban nurseryman , that often means rabbits . ca-ca some of your tasty plantsrabbit proofis the good way to check that your shrubs and trees will be healthy and ready to turn next spring .
Like deer , rabbits will eat almost anything if they are athirst enough . However , they favour the bark and tender branches of yield trees , specially plums , cherries , Malus pumila , serviceberriesand pear . They also will gnaw on maples , yews , burning bush bush , quince , blush wine and raspberry bush . athirst rabbits have no problem devouring prickly or textural plants as well , including little pines , arborvitaeand even barberries .
To reduce the winter hare population in your K , it ’s a good idea to clean up coppice piles and other place that offer natural covering . If you have a deck that ’s a foot or two off the ground , attach ironware fabric or a tight cedar grille between the reason and the deck trading floor to forestall rabbits ( or other critter ) from bunk down there during the winter . Fencing around your entire garden , with a ¼ inch hardware textile on the low 2 substructure , can prevent rabbit from entering during tender month , which may make them less likely to depend in your yard for intellectual nourishment in winter . However , as snowfall levels rise , cony can get through many fencing .
Unprotected, this arborvitae was eaten up to the snow line by rabbits one winter.
Rabbit Proof Vulnerable Trees
For vulnerable plant life , tot protection around individual trees and shrub is the easiest way to rabbit proof the plant . select a ¼ column inch hardware fabric or chicken conducting wire for shrubs or fledged trees . A young tree diagram can be protected with corrugated or other plastic tree guards that encircle the bole loosely . Because rabbits can easily travel on top of blow , select protection that is 4 feet tall and place it a few inches from the bole or bush crease . You may want to bury the bottom 2 to 3 inch of fencing to prevent burrowing brute from getting at your tree diagram .
Some repellants can be used in winter , though others must be applied when the temperatures are above freezing . Be certain to read package directions to see whether it can be used in the cold months and how to apply the repellent .
Other critters that cause damage?
While rabbit cause a luck oftree and bush damage , they are not the only critter after your plants . In areas with with child deer populations , you may see tearing on vernal branches and other planetary house of browse . Like rabbits , fencing them out and not encouraging cervid in urban or suburban expanse by feeding them is the good feeler . rodent , such as shiner and voles , may nibble on tree diagram bark or disrupt lawns . While you may see house of tunneling in the snow , most often the damage is not visible until spring . To deter gnawer , remove or sequestrate brushing deal and keep the area under your snort feeder clean-living .
Mary Lahr Schieris a long - time Minnesota garden writer .
Featured photo : Young rabbits hide in a nest built in a garden . Credit : Adam NironUnsplash . All other exposure courtesy of Mary Lahr Schier .
After the very hard winter of 2023, many homeowners found their trees girdled by rabbits. If a tree is completely girdled, it will not survive.
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