Winter is a tough season for the animals we share our outdoor spaces with.
Winter is a tough season for the animals we share our outdoor spaces with
Ready to play a fun gardening game? At this time of year, the question ‘What ate my plant?’ is a popular one from readers, and listeners to my radio show. I’ve picked a few that were sent to me to share with you. See if you can get them right. VIBURNUM SHRUBS
Q) I have three beautiful viburnum shrubs and every winter something eats the tops off of them. This year they chewed my three down from six feet to three feet. What is eating my poor shrubs and how do I make them stop? – Sandy
A) This is an easy one as there are not many garden marauders that will eat the tops off of a shrub that is six feet tall. Sandy has deer. When it comes to chewing a shrub from the top to the bottom, deer are voracious. The saddest part of this question is that viburnum are supposed to be deer resistant.
Clearly nobody told the deer that.
To help stop the problem, I like to resort to the food chain for a little help. Deer will avoid an area when they think a natural predator lives there. I use coyote or fox urine to “mark” the perimeter of my gardens. Available online under several brand names including Tink, this product is great for keeping the deer population at bay.
BURNING BUSH
Q) Something ate all of the bark from around the bottom of my burning bush. They took most of the bark from all around every branch. Will my shrub come back?
A) Bunnies ... it was the evil bunnies! Rabbits love the tender wood of certain shrubs. They like it because it is usually sweet from any residual sap that remained in the bark as the shrub goes dormant for the winter months. As a food source, they usually only go after the shrubs when there is a blanket of snow to prevent the rabbits from getting at the grass or perennials. Unfortunately, if the bunnies chew off a complete circle of bark, they can effectively kill off the tree as they prevent the sap from travelling up from the roots into the buds.
On a good note, burning bush is a tough little shrub. Before you cut it down, scratch the bark at the top of the shrub to see if it has any green underneath. Green means the shrub is still alive. As far as stopping the carnage next season, try a product called Bobbex. It’s a deterrent that sticks to the bark and lasts more than a few weeks. I’ve had good success with it lasting through the entire winter.
Winter is a tough season for the animals we share our outdoor spaces with. Unfortunately, our gardens are often their only option for getting the nutrients they need to make it through a time when vegetation isn’t that abundant.
If we have another rough winter and you are afraid for your plants, consider feeding the critters something that they would like better. Just do it at the far back of your property.
Outdoor design and lifestyle expert Carson Arthur has become the voice of environmentally friendly landscape design and loves to help people maximize their outdoor spaces. Online at carsonarthur.com Twitter: @CarsonArthur