I think I'm giving up...

[arielmn]

The new saplings have been ravaged by bunnies or chipmunks.  The 3 I most wanted have been chewed on.  The witch hazel is a nub, the Bur Oak is one half its height and the hawthorne had nibbles.  The one I got for free, the one I don't really care about, the red maple has leaves budding out.

It is a Canadian conspiracy.  ;)

I did wrap and protect my trees as much as I could and I will keep attention to them, but I won't be buying trees unless they are large enough to survive a bunny nibble.

It just makes more sense to spend more on a larger quality tree, than to keep going through this hassle.

It's been a beautiful weekend thus far.

Comments

[jbru.livejournal.com]

Sounds like your bunnies don't have very good eats available to them. I'd try a combo of putting cayenne pepper around your saplings and setting out some good bunny eats a ways away from the saplings. (Maybe planting some spinach, for example.)

[arielmn.livejournal.com]

I thought they'd like the birdfood and the little extra food the birds dropped.

But cayenne pepper and spinach, I'll give that a try.

THANKS!

[elphaba-of-oz.livejournal.com]

I put tender, luscious, young plants out in cages. Whe they are large enough to reasonably withstand bunny predation I take the cage away.

[arielmn.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the trees are wrapped and I had planned to put cages up this fall. They've only been in the ground a week or so...