The Habits of Rabbits | Rabbits in the Garden

<v Speaker 1>Broadcasting from spring Like Studio A here at proven winner's
<v Speaker 1>color Choice Shrubs. It's The Gardening Simplified Show with Stacy,
<v Speaker 1>Hervella me, Rick Weist, and our engineer and producer Adrianna Robinson.
<v Speaker 1>Well hop to it. It's spring. Don't look now, but
<v Speaker 1>somebody's eating your prized plants. I hear from people. If
<v Speaker 1>nature isn't eating your garden, then your garden isn't part
<v Speaker 1>of nature.
<v Speaker 2>That's true.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, but to me, it's like saying you're doing the
<v Speaker 1>best you can. It's nice to say, but it doesn't help.
<v Speaker 1>I mean, let's be honest about this. All these little
<v Speaker 1>critters are cute until they take something out of your garden. Rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, fawns,
<v Speaker 1>and rabbits are herbivores and true to their nature, they
<v Speaker 1>consume a large number of plants. I think about rabbits
<v Speaker 1>in the landscape in the garden, Stacey, I think about
<v Speaker 1>the three bees brush. If you have brush around, odds
<v Speaker 1>are they're going to nest near your gardens, so you
<v Speaker 1>have to take action on brush piles. Babies they're so cute,
<v Speaker 1>they're adorable, and there's lots of them, lots and lots
<v Speaker 1>of babies, and of course rabbits. I've heard statistics that
<v Speaker 1>rabbits have something like an eighty percent predation.
<v Speaker 2>Right, Oh, that makes sense. It's going to be, you know,
<v Speaker 2>corresponding to the number of young they have. The more
<v Speaker 2>young something has, the more likely it is to be
<v Speaker 2>you know, preyed upon.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, they have so many predators. And then the third
<v Speaker 1>bee would be beans. If you want to put out
<v Speaker 1>a welcome matt for rabbits, just plant some beans. I'm
<v Speaker 1>just amazed when I plant beans how it just draws them.
<v Speaker 1>And rabbits love bean plants because the young, tender leave,
<v Speaker 1>shoots and sprouts are highly palatable, easy to chew, packed
<v Speaker 1>with nutrients, their young growth often emerging in spring. It's
<v Speaker 1>kind of like a sweet, succulent snack. They graze on it.
<v Speaker 1>I hope it gives them gas.
<v Speaker 2>But Rick, now, I thought your three bees were going
<v Speaker 2>to be bunny bun bun and bunny rabbits, And I
<v Speaker 2>have to say I'm a little disappointed at the moment.
<v Speaker 2>But as for the last point, yeah, they will eat
<v Speaker 2>any young plant. Yes, you know, especially in the vegetable garden.
<v Speaker 2>Anything that you like to eat. Chances are they very
<v Speaker 2>much like to eat as well, So yeah, that's beans
<v Speaker 2>might be a favorite. But anything in the veg garden
<v Speaker 2>is going to definitely need to be protected from rabbits.
<v Speaker 1>You bet well, You may ask, do I have a
<v Speaker 1>rabbit problem? Rabbits are crepuscular, which means they operate in twilight.
<v Speaker 1>They're most active during dawn and dusk. So if you
<v Speaker 1>actually haven't caught them or seen them in the act
<v Speaker 1>of destroying your landscape or your garden, here's some signs
<v Speaker 1>you've spotted pea sized droppings. I call them cocoa puffs
<v Speaker 1>or bunny berries. Plants look like they've been trimmed with
<v Speaker 1>pruners rather than nibbled on. They've got quite a set
<v Speaker 1>of upper and lower chompers.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, when they do damage a plant, it's very distinctive.
<v Speaker 2>It's like as if someone had taken a pair of
<v Speaker 2>pruners and just cut at an angle, and the angles
<v Speaker 2>always the same. It's like a thumbprint or something that
<v Speaker 2>they leave across.
<v Speaker 1>It's crazy, it really is. If young tender plants have disappeared,
<v Speaker 1>or you find tufts of hair or spots where it
<v Speaker 1>looks like a small animal's been digging, maybe even drip
<v Speaker 1>lines or some hoses have been chewed on. And then
<v Speaker 1>of course as we come out of winter in areas
<v Speaker 1>where we get a lot of snow, we'll see gnawing
<v Speaker 1>on the bark of trees. Trees can be girdled and destroyed,
<v Speaker 1>so spring can be a problem. Tender vegetation after winter,
<v Speaker 1>and rabbits are attracted to lush vegetation, a reliable, high
<v Speaker 1>moisture food source and of course necessary cover for protection.
<v Speaker 1>So I guess you know, some of the things that
<v Speaker 1>we've got to take a look at and in dealing
<v Speaker 1>with them is the habits of rabbits. You have to
<v Speaker 1>think like an ant. You've got to be almost like
<v Speaker 1>Bill Murray in Caddyshack, for example, for people who have
<v Speaker 1>house rabbits. Many people do have rabbits as pets. I
<v Speaker 1>understand there's a three three three rule. Three days for
<v Speaker 1>the rabbit to feel safe decompression, three weeks to settle
<v Speaker 1>into a routine, and three months to build trust and
<v Speaker 1>show their true personality bonding. So in the yard and
<v Speaker 1>in the garden, if those things don't exist in their jittery,
<v Speaker 1>it may help with rabbit control.
<v Speaker 2>Hmmm, just thinking about this because I did have a
<v Speaker 2>pet rabbit. He was just the sweetest, most delightful thing.
<v Speaker 2>Learned a lot about rabbits from having a pet rabbit,
<v Speaker 2>and yeah, he sometimes they can be very nervous, but
<v Speaker 2>he made himself right at home in our little apartment
<v Speaker 2>and uh just lived like a king for all of
<v Speaker 2>his years. So I definitely know when they feel safe,
<v Speaker 2>they feel, you know, virtually no fear. They never truly
<v Speaker 2>lose their predation instinct, knowing that they could be preyed
<v Speaker 2>upon it any minute. So they can be easily spooked,
<v Speaker 2>but once they start to trust you, And I think
<v Speaker 2>I'm going to talk a lot more about this in
<v Speaker 2>plants on tip. Okay, good, but I think, yeah, if
<v Speaker 2>they if they feel mostly safe in your yard, then
<v Speaker 2>they're going to be more prevalent in your yard.
<v Speaker 1>Well. I never had a pet bunny, but I have
<v Speaker 1>read Beatrix Potter's The Tail of Peter Rabbit, and I
<v Speaker 1>know a picket fence isn't going to work in my landscape.
<v Speaker 1>I use chicken wire. Make sure to sink the chicken
<v Speaker 1>wire into the soil in a surrounding fence, because I
<v Speaker 1>think when it comes to rabbits, probably some sort of
<v Speaker 1>physical barrier is the best deterrent, and I think one
<v Speaker 1>of the things you got to do is walk your
<v Speaker 1>property and look for a smooz. Now a smooze, isn't
<v Speaker 1>you know where you're smoothing a client that's smoozing, Yeah, schmoozing,
<v Speaker 1>whereas this is s m e uses.
<v Speaker 2>From you here on the gardening simplified.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, So it's an habitual hole or a gap through
<v Speaker 1>at the base of a hedge or a fence. And
<v Speaker 1>for people who trap them, they look for these smoozes.
<v Speaker 1>But you can do the same. Those gaps are crucial
<v Speaker 1>for the movement of wildlife through landscapes and are more
<v Speaker 1>or less natural tunnels. Of course, dogs will frequent them also,
<v Speaker 1>and if you have a dog or a cat, that's
<v Speaker 1>a natural bunny or rabbit deterrent also, well.
<v Speaker 2>You know, I think, and we'll talk again more about
<v Speaker 2>the subplants on trial. One of the things that I've
<v Speaker 2>noticed a lot about rabbits and advice for dealing with rabbits,
<v Speaker 2>is that they make a lot of assumptions. Now there,
<v Speaker 2>I have a smooth in my yard going from my
<v Speaker 2>neighbor's yard into ours, So they're very happy rabbits that
<v Speaker 2>live between our two properties. And I have a number
<v Speaker 2>of neighbors who I will mostly keep my opinion to myself.
<v Speaker 2>Here have outdoor cats that are frequent in my yard.
<v Speaker 2>I mean I see the cats all the time. Walking
<v Speaker 2>through my yard does not deter those rabbits an inch.
<v Speaker 2>They are just as happy as could be. So I
<v Speaker 2>guess it depends on you know, the frequency of the visits,
<v Speaker 2>it's exactly, and the animals themselves. But you know, three
<v Speaker 2>or four cats that frequently come through our yard has
<v Speaker 2>not deterred the numerous rabbits that have taken up residents,
<v Speaker 2>so you know.
<v Speaker 1>And it brings up a good point. There are so
<v Speaker 1>many things we can talk about in the show. For example,
<v Speaker 1>if you have a neighbor who has lots of clover
<v Speaker 1>in their yard, rabbits love clover and it will attract
<v Speaker 1>them to the area. Some people recommend using clover as
<v Speaker 1>a decoy so they leave your garden alone. I don't agree.
<v Speaker 1>Doesn't work. I would not recommend you.
<v Speaker 2>We all know, right, you cannot just give a dog
<v Speaker 2>as much food as possible. It will eat until it's sick.
<v Speaker 2>And same with animals. They never know day to day
<v Speaker 2>if they're going to be in a survival situation, so
<v Speaker 2>they're not going to be like, ah, shoot, I just
<v Speaker 2>had my fill of clover. Guess I won't go bother
<v Speaker 2>anything else in the guards. They're just going to be like, hm,
<v Speaker 2>what else is around here? If there's this delicious clover?
<v Speaker 1>I agree with you, and clover is like ice cream
<v Speaker 1>to rabbits. The thing that drives me crazy. And that's
<v Speaker 1>why I protect trees infall and rap trees young trees
<v Speaker 1>is because rabbits can do significant damage to young trees.
<v Speaker 1>And so in October November, as we head into winter,
<v Speaker 1>super important to protect your young trees. And with that,
<v Speaker 1>this week I wrote a girdled limb rick in honor
<v Speaker 1>of our rabbit friends. Spring is here. It's thawing, a
<v Speaker 1>conclusion I am drawing in winter, I'm inside, comfy, but
<v Speaker 1>now I'm outside grumpy. The rabbits have been gnawing, but
<v Speaker 1>they're fuzzy in They're adorable. Retribution would be deplorable. Can't
<v Speaker 1>we just get along? I know it can't be wrong,
<v Speaker 1>our relationships restorable. Nope, I've shed my gloves and ear muffs.
<v Speaker 1>This fight will come to fisticuffs now I'm really bumming.
<v Speaker 1>Look I saw it coming, the telltale sign of cocoa puffs.
<v Speaker 1>The bunny moon is over. You're cute, but I need
<v Speaker 1>closure before matters get too tents. I'm building an impenetrable fence.
<v Speaker 1>You stay out there and eat the clover. This conflict
<v Speaker 1>was predictable. Your presence is extricable. It's wabbit season, whereby
<v Speaker 1>it sh be very, very quiet. Old Elmer, you are despicable.
<v Speaker 1>Can you tell I'm passionate about this topic.
<v Speaker 2>Yes, and you're about to hear my take on it
<v Speaker 2>in Plants on Trial, So everybody get ready.
<v Speaker 1>Can't wait? That's coming up next here on the Gardening Simplified.
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<v Speaker 2>proven Winner's Color Choice dot com. Goore Reeting's gardening friends,
<v Speaker 2>and welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show, where the
<v Speaker 2>topic of the day is rabbits. For a couple of reasons,
<v Speaker 2>here we are before Easter, and of course everyone associates
<v Speaker 2>Easter with rabbits. Second of all, because it's spring and
<v Speaker 2>the rabbits are mating, if not having actual babies in
<v Speaker 2>the yard, and that means they're hungry. And most importantly,
<v Speaker 2>spring brings all of that tender, soft, young growth, which,
<v Speaker 2>as you said, rick is their absolute favorite thing compared
<v Speaker 2>to that tough growth that comes on later in the summer.
<v Speaker 2>So all of those things combined to put rabbits on
<v Speaker 2>your mind. Now, as a former bunny mom myself, I
<v Speaker 2>would be remiss to not remind people that rabbits are
<v Speaker 2>actually very high maintenance pets. They are not like a
<v Speaker 2>hamster or something like that that you can just keep
<v Speaker 2>in a cage. They are like a cat that you
<v Speaker 2>can never leave alone interest. So if anyone is thinking, yes,
<v Speaker 2>they're adorable and they make wonderful pets if you can
<v Speaker 2>bond with them. Although personalities very widely, you know they
<v Speaker 2>are definitely not an easy pet to have. Their digestions
<v Speaker 2>are sensitive, so if you are thinking about a pet rabbit,
<v Speaker 2>definitely you want to think twice about that. Take it
<v Speaker 2>from me, But if you are prepared for everything that
<v Speaker 2>comes with the rabbit. They make great pets, and I
<v Speaker 2>learned a lot about rabbits having a pet rabbit, and
<v Speaker 2>I learned a lot about how they eat, what they
<v Speaker 2>eat and all of that. And so my unpopular opinion,
<v Speaker 2>my horticultural hot take for today's episode is I don't
<v Speaker 2>really mind having rabbits in my garden.
<v Speaker 1>Interesting. Well, I will hand it to you that they
<v Speaker 1>produce a lot of good composts.
<v Speaker 2>Yes, they do manure.
<v Speaker 1>It's not hot, it's reusable.
<v Speaker 2>It's all like, you know, it's like when we were
<v Speaker 2>talking about composts a couple of weeks ago, you know,
<v Speaker 2>we said, like, you don't want carnivore animal compost or
<v Speaker 2>you know, manure, you don't want omnivore animal manure, but vegetarians,
<v Speaker 2>which rabbits are perfectly fine.
<v Speaker 1>Oh yeah, it's fantastic and it's everywhere, and I you know,
<v Speaker 1>it's something that drives me crazy is General Mills, the
<v Speaker 1>cereal people, why they picked Sonny the Cuckoo Bird as
<v Speaker 1>their mascot. They should have had a rabbit on the
<v Speaker 1>box of.
<v Speaker 2>I don't know, trying to sell cereal, you know, all right,
<v Speaker 2>But so for all of the years that we've done
<v Speaker 2>the show, I have made my disdain for deer abundantly clear.
<v Speaker 2>And really what this comes down to is I don't
<v Speaker 2>mind rabbits because I do get to actually enjoy them.
<v Speaker 2>The rabbits in our yard are very gregarious. You know,
<v Speaker 2>we can be sitting there relaxing at the end of
<v Speaker 2>the day and they come out. I have had one
<v Speaker 2>actually walk up to my foot and sniff my foot
<v Speaker 2>before last summer, and so it's very interesting to kind
<v Speaker 2>of I honestly take it as a compliment that they've
<v Speaker 2>chosen to, you know, make our yard their home. It
<v Speaker 2>means a lot to me.
<v Speaker 1>I agree with you one hundred percent. I would take
<v Speaker 1>a rabbit over deer any day.
<v Speaker 2>Now. If the deer wanted to come around when we're
<v Speaker 2>hanging out in the yard and can watch them, that
<v Speaker 2>would be a totally different thing. I would feel much
<v Speaker 2>differently about the deer. Instead, the deer come in the
<v Speaker 2>dead of night, you know, maraud through your yard, leave
<v Speaker 2>a trail of giant cocoa puffs, and you know, damage everywhere,
<v Speaker 2>and the rabbits like at least you get to see
<v Speaker 2>them and watch them. And so it does make me
<v Speaker 2>think a lot about sort of the ecosystem. So I
<v Speaker 2>do believe that, yes, you know, it is a natural
<v Speaker 2>part of gardening to have some rabbit damage. But that said,
<v Speaker 2>rabbit damage can also get very abundant, and I'm not
<v Speaker 2>gonna lie, rabbit damage can also be very heartbreaking. Even
<v Speaker 2>though I do have a very high tolerance for the
<v Speaker 2>rabbits that visit our garden, it's not to say I've
<v Speaker 2>never had my heart broken. I cannot grow Alium's pherocephalon.
<v Speaker 2>The drumstick Alium such a great plant, Absolutely love it.
<v Speaker 2>I have planted hundreds of them, and not only do
<v Speaker 2>the rabbits munch them down. So as soon as that
<v Speaker 2>nice beautiful flower stock comes up, not only do the
<v Speaker 2>rabbits mow it down, they don't eat it. Yes, so
<v Speaker 2>they mow it down, they go, oh, you know, hey,
<v Speaker 2>delicious flower stock. Oh my gosh, this tastes like onions.
<v Speaker 2>Drop it. So then I don't have any drumstick Alium flowers,
<v Speaker 2>and I have this mulch of cut off drumstick Alium
<v Speaker 2>flowers that is frustrated. It is frustrating. Last year I
<v Speaker 2>had planted one hundred in one bed, and they took
<v Speaker 2>down every single one except one I.
<v Speaker 1>Had the same experience with aliums.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, so now you will see if you start doing
<v Speaker 2>some research onto rabbit resistant plants, consistently alium is on
<v Speaker 2>the list. Correct, not not so. And I can understand
<v Speaker 2>why people would say so, because of course they have
<v Speaker 2>that very strong and unique kind of aroma. But yeah,
<v Speaker 2>my rabbits eat have sampled every single alium in my
<v Speaker 2>maybe not quite every single one, but the majority of
<v Speaker 2>aliums that I have tried to grow. So basically all
<v Speaker 2>of this is to say that I would say, even
<v Speaker 2>more so than with deer, giving advice on rabbit resistant
<v Speaker 2>plants is difficult.
<v Speaker 1>Yes.
<v Speaker 2>You know, when I was researching the show, I was
<v Speaker 2>looking at university websites, which of course is my normal
<v Speaker 2>habit to, you know, look up information from reputable sites,
<v Speaker 2>not just some person you know, spouting off, but like
<v Speaker 2>universities basing this on real life, you know, experience, and
<v Speaker 2>you know the things that they were listening as rabbit resistant.
<v Speaker 2>I'm like, they back out of that. In my yard,
<v Speaker 2>they that every year, and then they go on to
<v Speaker 2>say plant lavender as a scent deterrent. Do you have
<v Speaker 2>any idea how much lavender I have in my yard,
<v Speaker 2>and how many bunnies I have in my yard. It's
<v Speaker 2>gonna work, It's not gonna work. Nothing is rabbit kryptonite,
<v Speaker 2>just in the same way that nothing is deer kryptonite.
<v Speaker 2>You can't. These are animals with a survival bent. They're
<v Speaker 2>not just gonna be like whoa lavender better turntail and
<v Speaker 2>run on the list. You know, they don't eat it, no,
<v Speaker 2>but its presence certainly does not deter them whatsoever. So
<v Speaker 2>I would encourage you to try, despite Rix's limerick, try
<v Speaker 2>to make a little peace with the rabbits. Give up
<v Speaker 2>on the things that you can't necessarily grow with them.
<v Speaker 2>And the other thing that I have I've really noticed
<v Speaker 2>about rabbits. It's quite interesting. Obviously, I get a lot
<v Speaker 2>of shrubs working here at prouven Winter's color Choice Shrubs,
<v Speaker 2>and what I have found consistently is that if you
<v Speaker 2>can get a plant that is big enough and thick enough,
<v Speaker 2>even if it's something the rabbits will normally eat, they
<v Speaker 2>don't go into the thick wood. They don't like the
<v Speaker 2>thick wood. They like thin wood. So a great example
<v Speaker 2>would be bloomerang lilac. Okay, you know, good deer resistant
<v Speaker 2>plant and mostly a rabbit resistant plant, except this plant
<v Speaker 2>kind of lightly suckers. It puts out new shoots all
<v Speaker 2>around the base every year, and every single year, the
<v Speaker 2>rabbits eat every single one of those new shoots that
<v Speaker 2>come out from the why because they're super thin, they're
<v Speaker 2>super soft. Everything is cut off in the exact same
<v Speaker 2>way at the exact same point because of their little
<v Speaker 2>rabbit heights. Although I have seen a rabbit stand on
<v Speaker 2>a tine legs to eat flowers, get up there and
<v Speaker 2>then stand and pull it down and eat it. So
<v Speaker 2>really you can grow almost anything if you can either
<v Speaker 2>protect it long enough to get to that larger size
<v Speaker 2>that it's not is appealing to rabbits, or you know
<v Speaker 2>you're buying a larger size to begin with. So if
<v Speaker 2>you have a lot of rabbits, I would say, just
<v Speaker 2>like I say with deer, buy the largest plants that
<v Speaker 2>you can. That is really going to help you because
<v Speaker 2>you don't have to worry about that thin, soft top growth.
<v Speaker 2>It's really the thin bottom growth that's a problem with
<v Speaker 2>the rabbits. So that's one of the easiest strategies that
<v Speaker 2>you can kind of take. But as far as what
<v Speaker 2>rabbits don't eat. I think there are some general rules
<v Speaker 2>that you can apply and that I have also seen.
<v Speaker 2>Number One, rabbits do not like things with hair on them. Yes,
<v Speaker 2>so potentilla great example.
<v Speaker 1>Deer.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, neither do deer. I mean, Potentila is one of
<v Speaker 2>the most deerproof and rabbit proof plants that you can grow.
<v Speaker 2>It's not terribly heat tolerant. So sorry to all of
<v Speaker 2>our warm climate friends who probably have even more rabbits
<v Speaker 2>than we do in the north, but potentilla is one
<v Speaker 2>that they definitely won't eat. It has kind of this
<v Speaker 2>whitish hair all over it. Elderberry has a really strong smell.
<v Speaker 2>I've actually had deer eat my elderberry, but never rabbits.
<v Speaker 2>And you know I'm talking about sometimes even starting with
<v Speaker 2>really really small plants. Boxwood, another plant they've never touched,
<v Speaker 2>also has kind of a funky smell to in general,
<v Speaker 2>and which is kind of great. I mean that gives
<v Speaker 2>you a lot of really really nice plants. Big leaf hydranges,
<v Speaker 2>they don't bother because you always have that pretty thick stem.
<v Speaker 2>You know. These are not plants like the lilac. I
<v Speaker 2>just explain that have those little kind of shoots coming
<v Speaker 2>off them. They have big thicked stems, and the rabbits
<v Speaker 2>never touch those. They never touch oak leaf, hydrangees with
<v Speaker 2>that peeling bark, never touch butterfly bush. Now I'm not
<v Speaker 2>really sure why that is, because.
<v Speaker 1>I think it's the soft, hairy foliage.
<v Speaker 2>I guess, you know. But they deer don't eat it either,
<v Speaker 2>and it doesn't have like any particular smell or other characteristics.
<v Speaker 2>Nothing eats my perennial hibiscus, So that's kind of great.
<v Speaker 2>For Scythia milkweed, they never touch, Like I said, lavender,
<v Speaker 2>never touch it, but definitely does not deter anything. Nepaita
<v Speaker 2>another great plant. Another plant that I have that surprises
<v Speaker 2>me Solomon seal variegated Solomon seal. Sure nothing touches that,
<v Speaker 2>and that is such a wonderful plant. So you know,
<v Speaker 2>this is I have come over the years to kind
<v Speaker 2>of have this approach to gardening where I don't have
<v Speaker 2>the kind of yard I can easily fence in, and so, yeah,
<v Speaker 2>there are things that I can't grow or things that
<v Speaker 2>I love and have tried to grow and have had
<v Speaker 2>to give up. But overall, I think I much prefer
<v Speaker 2>the peaceful coexistence with the rabbits, they get food and shelter.
<v Speaker 2>I get to watch adorable bunnies every single year, and
<v Speaker 2>I call that a win win. So anyway, we will
<v Speaker 2>put this list, of course in YouTube, so you can
<v Speaker 2>get all of that information in case you are driving
<v Speaker 2>and listening to the podcast or radio version, and give
<v Speaker 2>you a little starter for rabbit resistant plants. We're going
<v Speaker 2>to take a little break. When we come back, we're
<v Speaker 2>opening up the mailbag, so please statooed at proven Winner's
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<v Speaker 2>with a better shrub. Our team of experts tests and
<v Speaker 2>evaluates all of our flowering shrubs in evergreens for eight
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<v Speaker 2>Creating's gardening friends, and welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show,
<v Speaker 2>where we're talking all about rabbits. Partly because Easter is
<v Speaker 2>upon us and partly because the rabbits are upon us.
<v Speaker 2>And you know, like I was saying in Plants on Trial,
<v Speaker 2>I really love how much I learn by observing the
<v Speaker 2>rabbits in my yard, and that the information that you
<v Speaker 2>kind of take from those observations can help you come
<v Speaker 2>up with other strategies to deter rabbits or you know,
<v Speaker 2>find other methods to deal with them. And one of
<v Speaker 2>them is where they nest. And I have found bunny
<v Speaker 2>nests in my yard over the years in all sorts
<v Speaker 2>of crazy places. Sometimes you know, where you'd think like
<v Speaker 2>kind of tugged up underneath a shroud where they have
<v Speaker 2>a lot of coverage, sometimes just right out in the open.
<v Speaker 2>But one year I had container bunnies.
<v Speaker 1>Container bunny.
<v Speaker 2>Yes, I've actually had two years of container bunnies. And
<v Speaker 2>I know this may come as a shock to people,
<v Speaker 2>but rabbits apparently love to nest in containers.
<v Speaker 1>Wow.
<v Speaker 2>And I'm not talking like you're empty containers. I'm talking
<v Speaker 2>containers that are full of fresh potting soil that you
<v Speaker 2>have planted up and if they can access them.
<v Speaker 1>If they're elevated off the ground, maybe it's more.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah. So one year I had it was in a
<v Speaker 2>very large, like twenty inch container, but I had that
<v Speaker 2>container kind of grouped with smaller containers over it, and
<v Speaker 2>I noticed that there was a rabbit nest in it,
<v Speaker 2>and I was like, what is going on here? And
<v Speaker 2>then one evening, sure enough, we watched the mama rabbit
<v Speaker 2>come up and she went hop to the first container,
<v Speaker 2>hop to the second container, and then hop right into
<v Speaker 2>the top. It was pretty cute. But I have a
<v Speaker 2>picture here, and if you're watching YouTube, you're definitely gonna
<v Speaker 2>want to check this out on YouTube. I have a
<v Speaker 2>beautiful kind of old fashioned concrete you know, box type
<v Speaker 2>of container, you know, the kind that you'd use for
<v Speaker 2>like alpine stuff, and I've historically grown time in it
<v Speaker 2>and it's done great. And one year it was it
<v Speaker 2>was quite late in the season, I think it was
<v Speaker 2>early July. I happened to notice some hair in it
<v Speaker 2>and I was like, oh, what is that? And I
<v Speaker 2>looked closer and there was a bunny nest in this
<v Speaker 2>container and we really got to watch it as it
<v Speaker 2>went from Of course, I didn't tear it apart. I
<v Speaker 2>knew what it was when I saw it, but we
<v Speaker 2>got to watch it as the rabbits got bigger and
<v Speaker 2>bigger until they could no longer fit into the nest
<v Speaker 2>and the hair plug, so the mother rabbit pulls out
<v Speaker 2>the fur on her hind quarters to line and fill
<v Speaker 2>the hole. So that's where all of that comes from.
<v Speaker 2>So if you see a rabbit looking really mangy, chances
<v Speaker 2>are that's a mama rabbit whose hair is growing back
<v Speaker 2>after she plucked it all out to make this cozy
<v Speaker 2>little burrow for her babies. And it's also again a
<v Speaker 2>telltale sign of a nest. And so we watch these
<v Speaker 2>little baby bunnies get bigger and bigger until they could
<v Speaker 2>not even fit in the hole anymore.
<v Speaker 1>Wow.
<v Speaker 2>And then they won by one. They left the nest.
<v Speaker 2>And when they left the nest, they went over and
<v Speaker 2>they hid. Each one went and hid under our hibiscus
<v Speaker 2>that was right near where the nest was. It stayed
<v Speaker 2>there until dusk. At that point the mother rabbit showed up.
<v Speaker 2>The baby ran out from its hiding spot, nursed one
<v Speaker 2>last time, she cleaned it, and it went off on
<v Speaker 2>its bike. And it was just the most amazing thing
<v Speaker 2>to see.
<v Speaker 1>Off to college.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, off to college, which is another part of the garden.
<v Speaker 1>Apparently, you know, as long as we're going down this
<v Speaker 1>rabbit hole. Then let me share that if you are
<v Speaker 1>east of let's say, the Mississippi River, you're dealing predominantly
<v Speaker 1>with a cotton tail eastern type rabbit. If you're in
<v Speaker 1>the Plain States or the West or the Southwest, you
<v Speaker 1>could be dealing with jack rabbits. And now you're taking
<v Speaker 1>it to the next level. Those long eared rabbits that
<v Speaker 1>can run forty five miles per hour, chew on cables,
<v Speaker 1>propane gas hoses. You know, they've had lots of problems
<v Speaker 1>at airports, long term parking where they've done damage because again,
<v Speaker 1>rabbits have to keep their teeth shirt right.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah.
<v Speaker 1>But along the lines of nesting, jack rabbits are true
<v Speaker 1>hairs and they will nest above ground in brush. But
<v Speaker 1>many of these bunnies that you're talking about really want
<v Speaker 1>and in many cases are in a burrow, yeah, and
<v Speaker 1>will nest that way. So again, habits of rabbits.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, Anyway, there's always something to be learned. But I
<v Speaker 2>know that's not what you're here for. You're here for
<v Speaker 2>answers to your gardening questions. And I will tell you
<v Speaker 2>I have been getting a barrage of comments about what
<v Speaker 2>to do about overgrown shrubs. Now We did a rejuvenation
<v Speaker 2>show where we talked about this very topic, but that
<v Speaker 2>wasn't really the best time to do this. So if
<v Speaker 2>you are if you have one of these shrubs that
<v Speaker 2>is just looking really overgrown, the wood is very thick
<v Speaker 2>and it's not flowering as much, or it's just not
<v Speaker 2>looking as lush and full as you want it to,
<v Speaker 2>or you know it's kind of through winter damage, you've
<v Speaker 2>lost part of the plant. Yes, you can absolutely rejuvenation
<v Speaker 2>prune those. It's a great time to do that. And
<v Speaker 2>any multi stem shrub. So any shrub that comes out
<v Speaker 2>normally with multiple stems from the ground is a candidate
<v Speaker 2>for rejuvenation pruning. And I just want to say spring
<v Speaker 2>is a great time to do that. If it is
<v Speaker 2>a spring flowering shrub like for ccythia or lilac, and
<v Speaker 2>you do rejuvenation pruning right now, you will lose the flowers,
<v Speaker 2>but that's not the end of the world, because you're
<v Speaker 2>rejuvenating the thing anyway. But from a plant health standpoint,
<v Speaker 2>it's the best time. And from a gardener sanity standpoint,
<v Speaker 2>it is also the best time because I have learned.
<v Speaker 2>It took me a while to learn this, even though
<v Speaker 2>it seems dead obvious. Now, if you take off a
<v Speaker 2>lot of plant parts before they have foliage, they are
<v Speaker 2>a lot easier to deal with than when they are
<v Speaker 2>fully leafed out. So great time to do that rejuvenation
<v Speaker 2>pruning right now. Even if you're in a warmer climate
<v Speaker 2>where things have already leafed out, you're gonna have the
<v Speaker 2>whole season ahead of you for them to recover from
<v Speaker 2>this rejuvenation.
<v Speaker 1>So yeah, I agree here or here I wish more
<v Speaker 1>people did it.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, if you've got a candidate, now is the time,
<v Speaker 2>so sharpen up those loppers, replace the blade, and get chopping.
<v Speaker 1>As you mentioned, Stacy, if you have a forsythia, maybe
<v Speaker 1>you want to let it bloom and then chop it,
<v Speaker 1>But you're so right, why not just abandon the flowers
<v Speaker 1>for one year and get that plant rejuvening.
<v Speaker 2>Well all so you don't even need to fully abandon
<v Speaker 2>the flowers because you can cut it all back and
<v Speaker 2>then bring those stems inside, force them into bloom, enjoy
<v Speaker 2>some flowers, and then you know, again, give that plants
<v Speaker 2>sometlc in the coming weeks. But great time to do it.
<v Speaker 2>So we have any of their questions in the mouthbag.
<v Speaker 1>Sure, Judy's writing to us, we have an infestation of
<v Speaker 1>nightcrawlers in our yard. I hope you like fishing. A
<v Speaker 1>couple of years ago I spent early spring nights out
<v Speaker 1>in the yard with a flashlight, needle nosed pliers and
<v Speaker 1>a bucket trying to deal with the problem and the
<v Speaker 1>boy if they multiplied. Speaking with a nursery landscape company,
<v Speaker 1>they said, this is a problem in other areas of
<v Speaker 1>our city. Would you or your listeners have any solutions
<v Speaker 1>to this problem? Thanks for your help from Manitoba, Canada.
<v Speaker 2>Right, so we have talked about this on the show before.
<v Speaker 2>I know it comes as a surprise to a lot
<v Speaker 2>of us who were raised thinking that the number of
<v Speaker 2>earthworms in your soil is an indicator of soil health
<v Speaker 2>and there's nothing better for your soil than earthworms. But
<v Speaker 2>we don't have any native earthworms in North America. They
<v Speaker 2>all went extinct with the glaciers many thousands of years ago.
<v Speaker 2>And if they proliferate too much. If any earthworms do proliferate,
<v Speaker 2>they are decomposing the organic matter too quickly, disrupts the ecosystem,
<v Speaker 2>and so there's a lot of issues. Sometimes you can
<v Speaker 2>even cause issues for the roots of your plants. So
<v Speaker 2>the simplest advice that I have for you, Judy, is
<v Speaker 2>something that they're using to diagnose jumping worms, which is
<v Speaker 2>a very bad worm. Not I don't think it's all
<v Speaker 2>the way up north in Canada just yet, but it's
<v Speaker 2>all over the place. So here's what they do to
<v Speaker 2>find out if you have jumping worms and help to
<v Speaker 2>control them. You mix a third of a cup of
<v Speaker 2>ground must Now, I want to say, especially since it's easter,
<v Speaker 2>Coleman's mustard is the classic. It is extremely expensive. Do
<v Speaker 2>not waste your money on Coleman's mustard for this job.
<v Speaker 2>No nose, you have powdered mustard. You're not using like
<v Speaker 2>a the You're not using like prepared mustard. Here's what
<v Speaker 2>you need to do. You need to go to an
<v Speaker 2>Indian grocery store and get a bag of mustard seed
<v Speaker 2>and grind that yourself. You will save so much money.
<v Speaker 2>You don't want to use your Colemus mustard for this.
<v Speaker 2>Trust me, that little thing is like nine bucks. So uh,
<v Speaker 2>there's your solution to affording this. So a third cup
<v Speaker 2>of ground mustard. You put that in a one gallon
<v Speaker 2>of water. You can just use like a gallon milk jug.
<v Speaker 2>Although sorry, I know you're in Canada, so you probably
<v Speaker 2>don't have a gallon milk jug, but at any gallon jar.
<v Speaker 2>Mix that together, pull back the leaf litter, and then
<v Speaker 2>pour that mixture all over the soil. Now you will
<v Speaker 2>want to be standing by with a bucket and probably
<v Speaker 2>some gloves because the mustard mixture irritates their skin and
<v Speaker 2>they all come up to the surface. So you're gonna
<v Speaker 2>have tons of worms coming up to the surface very
<v Speaker 2>very quickly, and you're gonna want to scoop them up
<v Speaker 2>and put them in your bucket and then you can
<v Speaker 2>start a little fishing worm business.
<v Speaker 1>Interesting, I'm wondering. Do they have robins in Manitoba.
<v Speaker 2>Yes, so that's my other solution.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I mean if you had fruiting shrubs in the
<v Speaker 1>yard to help attract because robins love fresh fruit, right.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah.
<v Speaker 1>And then the other thing, if let's see it's Judy Judy,
<v Speaker 1>I'd go to a computer and look up rent to
<v Speaker 1>chicken dot com. I mean, can you rent a chicken.
<v Speaker 2>From maybe if you have just ask Yeah. I think
<v Speaker 2>if you can do any number of things to encourage
<v Speaker 2>wild or domestic birds in your yard and really pulling
<v Speaker 2>back that leaf litter is key because yes, robins and
<v Speaker 2>cat birds and so forth will thrash through that and
<v Speaker 2>try to find the bugs. But you know, it's that
<v Speaker 2>leaf litter that they live under. It keeps it cool,
<v Speaker 2>that's what they're eating and decomposing. So if also if
<v Speaker 2>you can kind of help to minimize leaf litter, keep
<v Speaker 2>it open for the birds, do other things to encourage birds,
<v Speaker 2>like have a bird bath would be really helpful. Having
<v Speaker 2>a source of water for birds will certainly attract them.
<v Speaker 2>Then you can also get some control through our avian friends.
<v Speaker 2>So I hope that's at least a little helpful. At
<v Speaker 2>least the mustard solution will help you get a gauge
<v Speaker 2>of just how severe your issue is, even if it's
<v Speaker 2>not necessarily feasible across your entire yard. So thanks so
<v Speaker 2>much for your question, Judy. We're going to take a
<v Speaker 2>little break. When I come back, we are continuing our
<v Speaker 2>conversation on the habits of rabbits, so please stay tuned.
<v Speaker 2>Thanks for listening to the Gardening Simplified podcast, brought to
<v Speaker 2>you by Proven Winners, Color Choice Shrubs, our award winning
<v Speaker 2>flowering shrubs and evergreens are trialed and tested by experts
<v Speaker 2>with your success in mind. Learn more at Proven winnerscolor
<v Speaker 2>Choice dot com.
<v Speaker 1>Welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show as we talk
<v Speaker 1>about habits of rabbits today. And by the way, while
<v Speaker 1>you were talking there in segment three, I did go
<v Speaker 1>to rent a chicken dot com and the domain site
<v Speaker 1>is available, so if you want to buy it, I'll
<v Speaker 1>go in with you.
<v Speaker 2>All right, Well, I think, yeah, this is your business idea.
<v Speaker 2>You connect people with chickens you need fed, with people
<v Speaker 2>who have chicken food, and you know chickens absolutely love
<v Speaker 2>Japanese beetles. So I think you're going to have a
<v Speaker 2>big business spike in July. Yeah, you could be onto
<v Speaker 2>something or maybe our listeners are.
<v Speaker 1>Domain names available. What came up was McDonald's senior menu.
<v Speaker 2>Not really sure how that relates.
<v Speaker 1>I don't know why that came up other than I
<v Speaker 1>liked the senior coffee at McDonald's. But that's just how
<v Speaker 1>it goes. Okay, back to rabbits. Here's one thing you
<v Speaker 1>can do alter the habitat. In other words, eliminate all
<v Speaker 1>brush brush piles, stone piles, weed patches, long grass, wood
<v Speaker 1>pile all of that sort of thing. Again, as you mentioned, Stacy,
<v Speaker 1>they're not only looking for vegetation to eat, but they're
<v Speaker 1>looking for cover, right, Yeah, so that's one thing. Scare
<v Speaker 1>devices a dog can be a good deterrent, but of course,
<v Speaker 1>if you have a dog, you need to care for
<v Speaker 1>the dog its own care and containment issues. But that
<v Speaker 1>may work for you. And then of course people will
<v Speaker 1>try the sprinklers. They'll set out these inflatable owls and
<v Speaker 1>snakes and that type of thing, and they don't work
<v Speaker 1>so much.
<v Speaker 2>No, And I think you know, if you live in
<v Speaker 2>a neighborhood, so you have neighbors nearly reasonably close by,
<v Speaker 2>they're just not as scared of stuff as maybe out
<v Speaker 2>in the country where things might be a little bit
<v Speaker 2>more unfamiliar. So yeah, I think there's just a lot
<v Speaker 2>of presumption out there about what actually deters rabbits. But
<v Speaker 2>I think the habit modification thing is really interesting because
<v Speaker 2>especially when we see the babies take up residence in
<v Speaker 2>our yard, they always come from the same direction. They
<v Speaker 2>become very habitual, So that can help you if you
<v Speaker 2>really do want to eradicate the rabbits, identify what are
<v Speaker 2>those areas that are giving these rabbits, you know, safe
<v Speaker 2>coverage where they feel like they can always approach from
<v Speaker 2>this direction or you know, hey, I always see it
<v Speaker 2>dart out from under this plant or that plant. You know,
<v Speaker 2>can you you know, maybe stake that plant up and
<v Speaker 2>create some space around it. You know, this is all
<v Speaker 2>just IPM kind of stuff, right, So I learn the
<v Speaker 2>habits of rabbits, so we can then apply that knowledge
<v Speaker 2>to come up with least toxic, least harmful solutions to
<v Speaker 2>managing them in our yards.
<v Speaker 1>Now, of course, you can repel the rabbits, and there
<v Speaker 1>are many, many different types of repellents on the market.
<v Speaker 1>Many of them involve pepper and other essential oils like
<v Speaker 1>cinnamon oil, mint oils, that sort of thing. Somewhat effective
<v Speaker 1>at least when there's heavy pressure and early spring and
<v Speaker 1>the vegetation is succulent. Then maybe using these sprays for
<v Speaker 1>a period of time, but it's a pain for you,
<v Speaker 1>it's a pain for your pocket book, and it's somewhat effective,
<v Speaker 1>so from time to time repellance may become necessary. You know.
<v Speaker 2>The other thing to think about too with the feeding.
<v Speaker 2>So when a deer feeds on your plant, right, the
<v Speaker 2>damage is pretty high because deer obviously taller, and so
<v Speaker 2>then you get these kind of witches broom resulting from
<v Speaker 2>that feeding up at the top, and that can kind
<v Speaker 2>of make the plant look all funky, Whereas with the
<v Speaker 2>rabbit damage, since it's happening low down on the plant,
<v Speaker 2>all to really doing is giving you some branching, so
<v Speaker 2>you know, really, there's a lot of ways. I think
<v Speaker 2>that plants can generally recover in a much more aesthetic
<v Speaker 2>fashion from most rabbit damage compared to deer damage, although
<v Speaker 2>I have had to. I have tried to grow ornamental clothes,
<v Speaker 2>and the way they ate that thing, there was no
<v Speaker 2>coming back of that. So, especially for shrubs and larger perennials,
<v Speaker 2>a little bit of browsing, you know, if you don't
<v Speaker 2>want to spray, or you missed it. Because plants are
<v Speaker 2>growing so quickly, generally, I feel like not the end
<v Speaker 2>of the world, especially compared with deer damage.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, yeah, and you said it clover is like ice
<v Speaker 1>cream to rabbits. And did I say earlier? Planting beans
<v Speaker 1>can be a real proud I love planting bean. I
<v Speaker 1>love growing beans. There's so much fun to grow. But wow,
<v Speaker 1>it's just amazing how they're attracted to being well.
<v Speaker 2>You know, we have a vegetable garden, of course, and
<v Speaker 2>when we put the stuff the metal wire fencing around
<v Speaker 2>it last year, we were like, hey, no rabbit can
<v Speaker 2>fit through there. This is fine, but we didn't think
<v Speaker 2>about the baby rabbits, and the baby rabbits could just
<v Speaker 2>top right on in there like there was no tomorrow.
<v Speaker 2>So one of the first things on our spring to
<v Speaker 2>do list here as the weather gets a little warmer
<v Speaker 2>is to put up to and wire, which we will,
<v Speaker 2>as you just described, kind of bend down so they
<v Speaker 2>can't dig below it, and hopefully that will keep them
<v Speaker 2>away from the beans, because I am ready to get
<v Speaker 2>plant in the veg garden.
<v Speaker 1>And I hate dealing with chicken wire. It is one
<v Speaker 1>of the most frustrating materials to work.
<v Speaker 2>I told my husband this. He seems to think he's
<v Speaker 2>going to be able to do it, so I'll report
<v Speaker 2>back on Wow, you can't know what this is.
<v Speaker 1>It's just something I don't look forward to it. It's
<v Speaker 1>just so's so fun.
<v Speaker 2>He sees it in the roles, He's like, Eh, it
<v Speaker 2>doesn't look so bad. I said, I have it on
<v Speaker 2>good authority. This is not the most fun stuff to
<v Speaker 2>deal with but we shall see which.
<v Speaker 1>Brings up the next point, exclude the rabbits. So exclusion
<v Speaker 1>of rabbits is probably the most consistently effective method, but
<v Speaker 1>it's costly for you. Not everybody wants to build a
<v Speaker 1>compound like I've built and then go around all all
<v Speaker 1>around the compound with that rotten chicken wire and attach it.
<v Speaker 1>But I've done it, and then of course look for
<v Speaker 1>the smoozes because they do somehow miraculously appear. But it
<v Speaker 1>does bring up a point if you don't want all
<v Speaker 1>the work or the cost of a compound and a fence,
<v Speaker 1>because I get it, fencing is expensive. What you can
<v Speaker 1>do is selectively exclude rabbits from certain plants that you
<v Speaker 1>find they are highly attracted to, or maybe it's a
<v Speaker 1>highly prized plant. I mentioned earlier about how important it
<v Speaker 1>is in the fall with young trees or that sort
<v Speaker 1>of thing, to protect them as you go into winter
<v Speaker 1>if you get a fair amount of snow in the winter,
<v Speaker 1>So Stacy, some selective excluding or selective barriers might work
<v Speaker 1>for you.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I mean, I think it's better if there are
<v Speaker 2>just certain things that you can protect. Obviously, it makes
<v Speaker 2>it a lot easier than trying to protect a large area.
<v Speaker 2>And again, sometimes you only need to protect things while
<v Speaker 2>they're young and the growth is very fine and succulent,
<v Speaker 2>and as they get older they don't need protection anymore.
<v Speaker 2>Not so much in the vegetable garden they usually do.
<v Speaker 2>But perennials and shrubs you can be in good shape.
<v Speaker 1>Now, I have to admit I've tried live trapping before.
<v Speaker 1>Live trapping with a have a heart trap didn't go well. No, no,
<v Speaker 1>I caught everything but a rabbit. And you know, so
<v Speaker 1>you try what you can with apple slices or corn
<v Speaker 1>on the cob, dried apples. I've even put rabbit droppings
<v Speaker 1>in there and it didn't work for me, but I
<v Speaker 1>wanted to, you know, live travel. Of course, they're very territorial.
<v Speaker 1>And one interesting thing about rabbits in the landscape in
<v Speaker 1>the garden is once they've established in an area. That's
<v Speaker 1>why I say you got to get rid of the
<v Speaker 1>brush piles, is that they don't travel very far. They
<v Speaker 1>have a tendency to be territorial. So you know, I
<v Speaker 1>was going to do a good deed and live tra
<v Speaker 1>but it didn't go so hot. Maybe you're you'll be
<v Speaker 1>more successful.
<v Speaker 2>To me, you know, I wonder if it's partly because
<v Speaker 2>they they like to feed on a diversity of food sources, right,
<v Speaker 2>so they're not just like, Okay, you know, I'm here
<v Speaker 2>to just eat this one thing over and over. They
<v Speaker 2>they really diversify their own diets and browse a lot
<v Speaker 2>of different things. So if you're just baiting the thing,
<v Speaker 2>they're just like, no, I'm not in the mood for
<v Speaker 2>you know, apples today.
<v Speaker 1>I think, I don't know you've owned a pet rabbit.
<v Speaker 1>I think they're smarter than we give them credit for. Um.
<v Speaker 2>I think that they are just so I mean, I'm
<v Speaker 2>not saying they're not smart. They can be trained a
<v Speaker 2>little bit to do stuff. He might be the exception
<v Speaker 2>and not the rule. I think that they are just
<v Speaker 2>so naturally cautious because of that high predation rate, that
<v Speaker 2>they are more caution driven than food driven. So like
<v Speaker 2>a raccoon's going to be like, oh, you got an
<v Speaker 2>apple in there, I'm I'm there, whereas the rabbit's going
<v Speaker 2>to be like, I don't know about this. This looks
<v Speaker 2>a little little fishy.
<v Speaker 1>As you mentioned, Stacy. Then I start to look towards
<v Speaker 1>rabbit proof plants, and there are no guarantees, and I
<v Speaker 1>think you have to know that going in. However, I
<v Speaker 1>have found any of the broad leaf evergreens, so Azalea's
<v Speaker 1>box would holly that sort of thing. Rhododendrons good success,
<v Speaker 1>really no problem with rabbits. I had potentilla on my
<v Speaker 1>list and butterfly bush. I agree with you there, things
<v Speaker 1>like white pine, blue spruce use any of the text
<v Speaker 1>are Yeah, whereas we've talked before about how we're amazed
<v Speaker 1>that deer will eat taxes. Oh yeah, but the rabbits
<v Speaker 1>have a tendency to leave it alone. Adjuratum, yucca, asters
<v Speaker 1>be balm, and I'm thinking that in my experience, generally
<v Speaker 1>something that has some essential oils in it or or
<v Speaker 1>a smell, whether it's bee balm or any of your
<v Speaker 1>herbs like oregano and oregano. By the way, I just
<v Speaker 1>planted boy. I think that the name of the variety
<v Speaker 1>is drops of Jupiter.
<v Speaker 2>Oh yeah, that's an ornamental oregano.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, ornamental oregano, proven winners oregano, and so any of those.
<v Speaker 1>Basil yep. Never had a problem with basil.
<v Speaker 2>I don't think that they've eaten any herbs. Wan to
<v Speaker 2>knock on wood here but I don't think they've eaten
<v Speaker 2>any herbs my garden.
<v Speaker 1>Now.
<v Speaker 2>They don't like yeah that that anything that's kind of
<v Speaker 2>resinous or smells strongly, they they will definitely stay away from.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, for example, hardy chrysanthemums. Ah, yeah, they won't touch them.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, that's just not really good too.
<v Speaker 1>Fox glove, ferns, goats beard, all of those are possibility.
<v Speaker 1>M have had no problem.
<v Speaker 2>Because that's got the hairy foliage.
<v Speaker 1>Had lavender on my list. Paeonies, no problem with Russian sage.
<v Speaker 1>Any of the salvia's perennial or annual have not had
<v Speaker 1>a problem. They're geraniums, Colendula again, no problems. Daffodils and hyacinths,
<v Speaker 1>no problems, whereas tulips big problem with. Yeah, rabbits and deer, onions, potatoes, squash, cucumbers,
<v Speaker 1>all of them. I mean, you know they've walked right
<v Speaker 1>past the cucumbers and then mowed down the beans.
<v Speaker 2>Cucumbers are kind of hairy too, a little bit prickly
<v Speaker 2>on the foliage.
<v Speaker 1>So did I mention if you want rabbits in your
<v Speaker 1>landscape plant beans? Hey, Stacy, this has been fun. Hopefully
<v Speaker 1>you've learned something about rabbits and let's get ready for
<v Speaker 1>him because they're out there this spring. Thank you Stacy,
<v Speaker 1>thank you Rick, Thanks Adriana. Thanks to you for watching
<v Speaker 1>us on YouTube, downloading the podcast, and listening to the
<v Speaker 1>radio version of our show. Have yourself a great week