Can you help?

I`m the member who is often crying about the rabbits eating down all my lilies! For some reason , I ordered $100 worth of beautiful lilies to be delivered mid March! What was I thinking? Does it help to plant the bulbs in chicken wire? I try to incase the stems when they break ground, but the rabbits often beat me or knock down the cage and help themselves. Lets hope that I will be successful in growing these beautiful flowers and keep them from rabbits and voles! Thanks for listening.....I suffer from remorst and anticipation! This is what happens when I am snowed in!! Lesley

When I received a huge amount of lilies in December, 2009, I planted them in pots and it worked out beautifully - no rabbit damage at all.

You can use wire cages but you'll still need blood meal and maybe additional products to keep the rabbits away from the lilies. The young leaves seem to be a delicacy to them and they will strip the stems bare.

Voles are a major problem to many people and there's a thread here on the Lily Forum about the subject: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1137334/

Good luck, Lesley!

If you're not going to fence in the garden, then you will need to stake down your individual cages. Until I get a fence put up around the entire garden, I use the landscape edging stakes that one uses for the plastic lawn edging. That will hold down the little circles of fence around individual plants. (2 per cage) Reusable, year after year after year.

Rick

Thanks for the tip

My scarecrow water spurter worked well with the rabbits. They were eating my beardless irises down to about 2 inches. You have to keep moving it around though.

We better see some pictures next year, Lesley, LOL.

We had problems with moose wiping out entire flower beds. I've used Plantskydd liquid for the last 5-6 years and will not garden without it. NO munching when I use this. The moose pass right on through or don't even come in the yard if I do the perimeter (which takes a while)
The company has come out with a granular for small animals which my friends have used with success. Based on how well the original product works, I'd strongly suggest the granular. I'll be trying it this spring as we have snowshoe hares this winter which means lots of bunny babies in the spring. Should be able to find it at any local garden center or Walmart.

http://www.plantskydd.com/
Barbara

I always laugh when I read your posts about the moose and gardening Barbara. I was up close to a moose crossing the road one day, and I just can't imagine the destruction they would do in the garden.

Will they attack at all? I can just see you out there shooing them.

DD went to college in Duluth Min. Moose on campus all the time. They are bigger than one might think.

Yeah they are! I was driving a Triumph TR7, and the moose came right up to it. I think I was about at knee level.

Great car. A friend of mine had one.
The most status car I ever drove was the doctors Range Rover.

Thanks to you`all for your suggestions. My yard is entirely fenced in....but they still get in! I guess they dig under the fence! As for the vole damage...I will try planting them in chicken wire. Might help. I got a kick out of the moose story.. I feel pretty lucky to not have that problem in my KY. garden!! I will now go and count my blessings....Thanks to everyone who posted. Lesley

Regarding the voles/ moles, Lesley, this year I planted daffodils around my lily bulbs. I can't report back yet, of course, but I'm hoping that will deter the little stinkers, as they supposedly don't like the daffodils. And since I can't even get to the area yet, through the snow, I have no idea what's going on.

I can't really say, but as far as surround a bulb with a growing something or another, I would think garlic might be more effective, and cheaper. Or maybe the bulbous Allium species that are fairly fast multipliers and ornamental, like Allium stellatum or A. cernuum. (They're tasty too.) Will be interesting to see any positive results from the daff experiment.

Rick

I bought Plantskyp granular.

Too late to plant the daffs now, but I will be interested in seeing the results next spring/summer. I, too, will but the Plantskyd granular. Thanks again to everyone who took the time to respond to my crying post! You`all ROCK! Lesley