After recently losing All of my hips and All of last years seedlings to rabbits (and maybe squirrels), I have almost given up hope. Even with protection the rabbits and squirrels seem to work together to bypass my wire mesh barriers seeking to destroy ONLY tagged hips and new seedlings. I can only construct so many barriers before my yard begins to look like a rose jail. Many times they just snip the main stem off at the base, leaving the dead plant there just to rub it in and see the look in my eyes as a years worth of work comes to end. Are there any worthwhile breeding roses that critters seem to leave alone? Certain species? The only rose I own that they won’t eat the foliage of is r. glutinosa, but they obliterated the hips. Forgoing the idea of finding a rose that critters don’t like the taste of, I think I need the biggest, baddest, thorniest, most vigorous, free suckering, wild beastly rose imaginable. Its the only way. Any ideas?
I cover my hips and neither rabbits nor squirrels have bothered them.
They do like some varieties better than others. I had a floribunda x gallica cross I’d hoped would bloom this spring. The rabbits ignored everything around it and completely stripped off every leaf. It grew back, but since it is a once-blooming rose, I will have to wait another year.
I believe you posted about this problem last year.
I don’t know where you live, so I can’t say much about the probable wildlife there. Rabbits are possible almost anywhere, and squirrels too. A rose loving animal you haven’t mentioned is the deer. Deer damage is a big problem for me. Are you sure deer are not the culprits in your garden?
Regardless, you should look up deer and rabbit deterrents. None of those deterrents are cheap, but some work better than others.
The deterrent that has worked best for me is Plantskydd, a spray. It lasts well on the plant, but it will have to be re-applied when new growth emerges. And the powder is difficult to mix. It’s available in ready to use form, but for a much higher price.
I tried Deer Scram, which seems to have the same ingredients as Rabbit Scram, and it did not seem to be as effective as Plantskydd. In fact, a rabbit sat right in the middle of a place where I’d scattered Deer Scram. Maybe later it experienced extreme pain (Deer Scram contains capsaicins and other “hot” things), but the rabbit did not seem bothered by what it was sitting in. And raccoons also did not avoid Deer Scram, although they might have had hot feet later.
The Scram deterrents are granular, meant to be scattered in the area to be treated, and I liked the ease of application. But I made the mistake of getting a little of the stuff on my hands while using the scoop that is provided, and the capsaicin (which is quickly absorbed by the skin) found its way to my eyes a couple hours later. Suggestion: If you use Deer Scram or Rabbit Scram, wear nitrile or rubber gloves, and (of course) don’t throw it toward the wind.
If you know that rabbits are the problem, maybe you need to consider some rabbit population control measures.
If you look through old issues of the RHA Newsletter, you will find a lot of suggestions about how to discourage consumption of ripening hips. One suggestion: aluminum foil. Most animals don’t like to chew aluminum foil, and a loose wrapping seems somewhat effective. Covering the hips with baggies or other things also seems effective. But I guess the main thing is to do something proactive to prevent hip loss.
Peter
I know that I have also replied to similar complaints of animal rose consumption but this yr I seem to have hit upon something that works. What I have are desert rats, some of which are on the endangered wild animal list (I do not know if these are or not-they certainly do not seem endangered here) and certainly they might not act like rabbits. This probably would not work at all with deer. Since the problem area abutts an open canyon/field I have replaced all the outside roses (two rows deep) with fast growing roses that bloom somewhat early and often, just not that great looking, or they have a mildew or rust problem, or I have lost the ID to them and I do not plan to use them, and the rats stripped them totally leaving the inner rows pretty much intact. This was not perfect, but it allowed both of us to be happy. I have put up an owl box-no takers as residents yet, and of course there are the coyotes and the resident cat both of whom do take out a few of these rodents yearly, but this is a large open field, and fences do not make a difference with these rodents. I still am losing a few large green hips to voles, but the rats seem to use the rose buds and tender stalks for lining their nests in the early spring only, apparently not for aesthetic reasons. Capsicum is but another condiment for wildlife.
“Capsicum is but another condiment for wildlife.”
I can verify Jackie’s statement. Quite a few years ago, in the old garden, I was given some “experimental” pepper spray the USDA was field testing, with the admonition that I MUST spray it while wearing a chemical resistant respirator, gloves and goggles as it would surely kill me of respiratory arrest should it be inhaled. I purchased what was demanded. I followed the directions religiously. I sprayed away and the feeding did not slow. I waited the required time between sprays and increased the dosage, thinking perhaps I hadn’t applied it sufficiently strong. Nope. The feeding continued. By the end of that “trial”, I sprayed to the point of frying the foliage off the plants. The feeding NEVER slowed. Conclusion? Southern California Jack and Cotton Tail rabbits LOVE hot and spicy food. Ironically, what did totally stop feeding was a product so nasty, it was pulled from home use. Lily Miller Spray and Go, liquid metaldehyde. Hose end applicator so no mixing required. After an El Nino, I had an infestation of Brown Snail and slugs I could not get under control, so I tried the Spray and Go. Bazillians of dead snails over night and not one leaf touched by the marauding vermin! Of course, it was only used that one time as I figured if it was THAT nasty, I didn’t want to be exposed to it, either. But, that stuff completely eliminated any rodent foraging!
Do you like Italian food? Surprisingly I am having very good luck with just plain old garlic powder. I take about 1/4 of a bottle of garlic powder and soak it for a few hours in the sprayer. Then I spray it on the plants like I was spraying for disease. I am having issues this year because it has been raining every few days (so you have to reapply when it rains hard enough). Add a couple of eggs and you get something that sticks better to the leaves and a little sulfur to the scent.
I do recommend that you at least are able to stand the scent of garlic as the whole yard smells of it for about 24-36 hours. That’s why I ask if you like Italian - I am always in the mood for something with noodles and red sauce after I spray. lol
I have also heard that planting the small marigolds (in areas of the country where you can grow them) also works to some degree with the smaller critters. I would imagine a mass planting of marigolds would keep quite a few critters away.
Surround the rose bed with dandelion which rabbits prefer above all.
I forgot to include, yes, there are several roses here rabbits avoid. Anything Banksiae, Fortuniana and Bracteata they don’t pay any attention to. They also never touched Star Magic, Ralph Moore’s Bracteata hybrid. That rose never spotted, rusted nor mildewed; aphids never paid attention to it and the gophers and rabbits ignored it all the years I grew it. Any and everything else in that garden was fair game, but they left those completely alone.
Does bracteata contain volatile oils? or something of that nature?
I don’t have any idea, Jackie. The vermin just ignore it, which is OK by me!