THOSE PESKY WABBITS

The Only Bunny I Like in My Garden

I designed and planted a beautiful garden in the Chicago suburbs a few years ago. The client called me the following Spring and asked me to stop by. The rabbits had eaten everything down to the ground, including a rather large Mugo Pine. Hundreds of dollars of plants were destroyed.

Since then I've tried every kind of rabbit repellent , with the exception of a fence which she doesn't want, and nothing has worked. Bloodmeal worked the best but the problem with that is it has to be constantly reapplied after each rain or snow.

This Spring we are trying a new repellent which has bloodmeal in a vegetable oil binder that promises not to be washed away by rain or snow. Plantskykdd ( they have a website at Plantskydd.com ) makes a rabbit and deer repellent which they claim will deter the rabbits for 6 months in winter and 3-4 months over the summer. WOW ! Is all I can say at this moment. We are certainly going to try it .

I came across another product called Plant Pro-Tec Units which has a high concentration of garlic ( rabbits and deer hate the smell ) that is evident for 6-8 months One ounce of the garlic oil is equivalent to 200 lbs. of fresh garlic and it is in a slow release system.

Don't think you can just go out and throw garlic oil or bulbs on your garden. Won't work. A little thing called oxidation happens and the odor is soon gone. Pro-Tec has a website at protecplant.com.

Rabbits are a major garden pest all over Chicagoland now and they have few natural predators to keep their numbers in check. Walking down my street a few weeks ago I came upon three young rabbits eating a bagel. They paid no attention whatsoever as I passed by.

This season my client's yard will be a test garden for repelling rabbits. I'll let you know the results.

Beautiful Betty

Magnolia Liliflora, 'Betty'

This is my dwarf magnolia, Betty, who has resided in my garden for over 10 years during which time she has never failed to bloom. I'm afraid that this year is a different story as the warmth of March tricked her into producing the beautiful plump buds you see above.

Folks chuckle when I call my magnolia 'Betty' and then I have to explain that she is one of the 'little girl' series that the hybridizer named after his granddaughters : Anne, Betty, Jane, etc.

After overnight temperatures plunged into the teens I went out the next day to check on Betty and her buds were frozen purple popsicles .

But, Betty is a Chicago survivor and is a good specimen for the small urban garden, growing to just 5 or 6 feet tall and wide.


No doubt Betty will live to see many more Springs. Like we say about the Chicago Cubs " Wait'll next year. " Seeya, Betts.

The Garden Gate

Who keeps a magazine for a dozen years ? I do if it's GARDEN GATE. I have the 2nd issue of Volume 1 still in my Garden Gate binder from 1995. I think I had the very first issue as well but loaned it out and never got it back.

Garden Gate publishes bi-monthly and I keep my favorite issues in a binder on my bookshelf. It's certainly not one of those flashy garden magazines, rather it has very down to earth gardening advice and information which is why I like it .

I was disappointed that GARDEN GATE wasn't in the nominations for best gardening magazine at the Mouse and Trowel Awards.

If you click on their link at left you'll find WEBEXTRAS which has interesting videos and 3 free printable garden plans.

NO, I don't work for Garden Gate, I just love to read it.

NOTE TO MYSELF FOR NEXT SPRING

An Arrangement for Ruby

My painting , above, is dedicated to an avid gardener, my dear Mother who died when I was four. It was purchased by a woman whose sister loved gardening and was dying of cancer. Flowers are much like humans. A seed is planted and it grows and flourishes. It brings joy and beauty and then one Spring it doesn't return.

Spring is a time of renewal and regrets for gardeners. The earth is still brown or white with snow and we begin to fret about what we didn't do last Fall.

I've written my list for next Spring :

Plant Forsythia along the fence in my front yard. I have one in back but it looks so nice to see that cheery warm yellow every Spring and walking up and down my street I see so many announcing Spring has arrived.

Plant more Spring bulbs. Species tulips , the small flowering ones for rock gardens and the lily-flowering May tulips with pointed petals are my favorites. Planting tulips is almost an annual thing in Chicago as so many seem to disappear or get eaten by rabbits. I havenoticed that the ones that make it year after year are the daffodils, Darwin hybrid and species tulips.

Plant more hellebores for the earliest Spring bloom. I want a "blue " grass lawn like the one I saw down the street - Scilla had colonized and it looked so soothing to see the clouds of blue. Seems if you like them they won't colonize and if you don't, they will. I love them and my neighbor considers them a nuisance.

Fight the war of the weeds : Dig out every Star of Bethlehem that keeps travelling to my garden from next door. For me, these are the biggest nuisance of all and if you ignore them they will take over your entire garden. My garden used to be plagued by Johnnie Jump-ups which I kept after until I finally conquered them. Oh, and don't forget the garlic chives that I foolishly planted and that are now travelling South.

So, just like the Chicago Cub fans , I say, " wait until next year ".

Meanwhile, Spring is due in Chicago this week. The long-range shows 60's and 70's. Yahoo !

ASK CAROLYN : READER QUESTION

Reader Larry asks : Can you tell me the correct way to plant a tree or shrub ?


Carolyn replies :

" Don't dig a dime hole for a dollar plant " is an old saying. the wisdom of which is that you should properly prepare a hole before planting. It may sound simple enough but it never fails that when I work with novice gardeners they barely scratch the surface of the soil and try to make a large plant fit into the tiny excavation.

The correct way to plant is to measure the rootball of the tree or shrub, dig the hole the same depth, and twice its diameter. Remove the plant from its container and check the roots . If it is rootbound ( the roots will be circling around instead of going down ), gently tease them out with your fingers. If the tree or shrub is B & B ( balled and burlaped ) remove all the string and burlap and any wire cages before placing in the planting hole.

Place the plant in the hole. It should be slightly above ground level. More trees die because they are planted too low. If your soil is heavy, plant it even higher. All the soil you've removed
( known as "backfill " ) should be mixed with soil amendments such as compost and then returned to the hole. If you are planting an acid-loving tree or shrub, add peatmoss or Black Forest soil conditioner to the backfill.

There's a new product out called Tree Saver that I use as extra insurance for survival in the urban landscape. It must be used at the time of planting. The urban soil is lacking in essential minerals, especially mycorrhizal fungi, which must be present if a tree or shrub is to survive . Tree Saver was developed by Planthealthcare. Visit their website for more information. Research on it shows that it has improved growth rates up to 300 % in stressed and degraded soils and transplant survival rate improvements of over 90 % increases in root growth of over 1,000 transplanted trees.

Add half the backfill and tamp down. Flood the rootball with water and let it drain. Once drained add the remaining backfill and tamp firmly to eliminate air bubbles. Add an inch or two of mulch, leaving a one inch diameter circle clear around the trunk to prevent crown rot. Water deeply.

To recap :