adminBest plants for deterring rabbits from flower beds
As adorable and cute as the may be, rabbits are without constitute are nuisance, and will swiftly lay to waste any flower bed they visit. Of the many methods of keeping away rabbits, using rabbit-proof plants is one of the best. These plants add essential nutrients and at the same time provide a non-toxic and non-harmful means of deterring rabbits from flower beds.
Below are some of the common plants used by veteran gardeners for keeping away bunnies
- Bloody Cranesbill
Having this flower planted in your garden would serve two purpose: add elegance to your flower bed and send a signal to rabbits that your flowerbed is out of reach. As its name implies, the flower produces a scent similar to blood, and rabbits hate the smell of blood.
This flower thrives best in late summer when sunlight is sufficiently high, and the soil is soggy.
- Foxgloves
Simply stated, rabbits just don’t like foxgloves, reason being that the flower produces toxic seeds. So, you are better off trying your hands on other rabbit-proof flowers rather than foxgloves if you have got young kids and pets at home. But if this isn’t an issue for you, foxgloves would be an excellent option.
You can either purchase a pot of this flower or buy the seedlings from a local garden shop. Foxgloves thrive best between June and July, and it takes about 6 months for the seed to germinate and mature, so you need to bear this in mind.
- Sedum
Sedum is an excellent choice if you wish to give your flowerbed an evergreen look. Its leaves and stem produce a repulsive smell too strong for rabbits to bear. They thrive well during autumn, and is sustained by a wet soil.
- Catmint
This aromatic flower is known to produce colorful blue flowers all year round. One good thing about them is that they thrive well in both wet and dry soils, and will survive even when water supply is severely limited. Its awful tasting stem and leaves serve as an excellent deterrent for rabbits.
- Bearded Iris
An excellent rabbit deterrent, bearded Iris prefer soils that are high in alkaline and good exposure to sunlight. Planting them together with other plants is the fastest way to kill them off –they prefer being alone and hate having company.
There are dozens of other flowers which can be used for deterring rabbits from flowerbed. Some of them include yarrow, yucca, elderberry and lots more.
It may take more than planting rabbit-proof flowers to keep rabbits away because a hungry rabbit eats just about anything. You may have to erect a fence, but this option is effective when covering a small area.
