It can also encourage your rabbit to eat more of that healthy hay. They come in both annual and perennial varieties. 27. This also includes spearmint, chocolate mint, peppermint, and more. Marie Iannotti is a life-long gardener and a veteran Master Gardener with nearly three decades of experience. Hot sun and drought are no trouble for these rugged flowers (which should be planted in full sun), and they are loved by pollinators and seed-eating songbirds alike. The clusters of blooms look wonderful in flower arrangements. Rose bushes are safe for rabbits to chew on. Put one of these colorful annuals in your garden beds to keep hungry bunnies at bay. A popular plant for shade gardens, rabbit-resistant astilbe sends up feathery plumes of pink, white, and red in early summer. University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Learn more about how you can get quality hay (even ORGANIC hay!) If you are new to caring for rabbits, check out the Bunny Lady bimonthly newsletter. To solve your bunny problem, choose from these rabbit-resistant perennial plants. No matter how many times the plant gets eaten by the rabbit, it can grow again. Your rabbit can eat celery. They may be furry and cute, their antics comical and fun to watch, butrabbits lose their appeal quickly when they wreak havoc in the garden by chewing their way through your prized plants. I put together a guide that goes over all the basics of rabbit care so you have it all in one place. It is a good source of fiber, antioxidants, and vitamins A and C. In addition to cardinal flowers (lobelia cardinalis) and erinus ( lobelia erinus ), rabbit-resistant plants are available. They don't need much care either. This plant also has nutritional and medicinal value. Butterflies, bees, and a variety of insects are attracted to these showy flowers, which bloom from June to October. Severe feeding may even kill the plants. Plant these lovely flowers to discourage deer in your garden: These tend to be either aromatic, thorny, or members of the nightshade family: Rabbits. Keep in mind that your rabbit's stomach is tiny. Spider flowers grow tall and fast in sunny gardens. This popular shade perennial comes in a number of varieties that offer sprays of pink orblue flowersin the spring. Fencing. Hollyhocks are lovely flowers that are completely safe for rabbits to eat. In the meantime, gardeners need solutions. All parts of horse nettle are potentially toxic for rabbits, but be especially wary of the berries and the leaves. This is completely normal behavior for rabbits. Spray the product on your bean plants. The Spruce /Micah Issitt and Adrienne Legault. Simply spread the mixture in with your rabbits hay to give them some yummy pieces to find. You know those teeth are good at eating sticks and salad, but what if the rabbit decides to munch on your My name is Amy and I am the Bunny Lady! Popular annual plants that are deer-resistant include the following: Bachelor buttons Calendula Sunflower Zinnia Snapdragon Four o'clock Salvia Cosmos Dusty miller Baby's breath Deer Resistant Perennials Deer-resistant perennials either have an offensive aroma, texture, or taste. If you are purchasing anything fromSmall Pet Selectuse the codeBUNNYLADYat checkout to get 15% off your first order. This means that they only eat material that comes from plants: things like grasses, seeds, fruits and vegetables. Finally, please note that you should . True jasmine plants are known to be non-toxic for rabbits. Catnip is not a very showy plant, so it can be planted near more showy blooms, like Purple Cone Flowers. Rabbits inflict their most significant damage in fall by chewing on woody plants until they're more vulnerable to cold. The leaves, in particular, contain a high amount of vitamin A, which makes them a very healthy part of a rabbits diet. Verbena flowers range from pure white to shades of red, pink, or purple. Sarah Scott is a fact-checker and researcher who has worked in the custom home building industry in sales, marketing, and design. Look around your garden for pea-sized droppings in small piles, or check your plants for chewed marks. This plant can also grow as wildflowers, so theres no need to be worried if your rabbit happens to come across them on your lawn. The plants form a dense carpet of flowers, and the blooms continue year-round in warm climates. Often, native plants are relatively rabbit resistant more so than non-native (exotic) plants. Selecting rabbit resistant plants isnt a sure-fire solution because the critters will eat nearly anything if theyre hungry and food is scarce. Sprinkle with five cloves of garlic and dip them in water. Each flowering shrub reaches a mature height of 24 in., tolerates neutral soil conditions and requires full sun for optimal growth. In late spring, small white flowers dangle from the leaf axils. The flowers and the foliage both smell like anise, giving the plant its common name. A wonderful ground cover for sunny spots, lamb's ear is adorned with soft, fuzzy silvery leaves that rabbits tend to avoid. Her bylines have appeared in Better Homes and Gardens, Allrecipes, Martha Stewart Living, and several other publications. These plants look like true jasmine, but they are characterized by yellow flowers and are actually unrelated. Subscribe to the Bunny Lady e-Newsletter and receive a FREE pdf guidebook going over all the basics of rabbit care. Most rabbit-repellent plants feature one or more of the following characteristics that make them less appealing as rabbit food: Unpalatable foliage that is spiky, jagged, prickly, fuzzy, or. If you have any cotton plants or trees, they are safe for your rabbit to chew on and eat. 2023 Gardening Know How, Future US LLC, Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036. They'll attempt to feed on garden fruits and vegetables, but they eat grass, ornamental plants, and even tree bark, too. The leaves can even provide some extra protein for your rabbit. Moshobane, Claude Moshobane et al. An innate sense of danger often- but not always- steers animals away from plants that are toxic. Most varieties will die after blooming and produce pups from the base to replace themselves. Availability of colors or sizes varies based on your local store. We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Whether you love the strong aroma of marigold or not, rabbits tend to avoid it. According to the official ASPCA, Mandevilla or Dipladenia are plants that are not considered to be toxic or poisonous to dogs, cats, and other animals. Fortunately, there are many flowering plants -- annuals, perennials and shrubs -- that rabbits generally avoid. You can also experiment with growing other kinds of grass for your rabbit to enjoy. Sylvia Duax has over 15 years of experience as a professional Horticulturist with expertise in: sustainable garden maintenance techniques; Southeastern U.S., especially in the mid-Atlantic regional gardening; native plants; wildlife gardening; small space, urban and container gardening and community engagement. Enhance . Impatiens plants are hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture zones 7 through 11, with some variation depending on the cultivar. Size: 1-5 feet tall, depending on variety. HGTV offers our picks of some of the best. USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Growing Conditions: Part shade and moist, well-drained soil. Tender green shoots will be gnawed off, often right to ground level. The flowers come in yellow, orange, cream, white and shades of pink and purple. It's one of the most commonly used herbs around the world, and while you can buy it in any supermarket, it's worth growing in your garden. This low-care plant is wonderfully drought resistant, too, so you can plant it and enjoy it without much care. In the winter time, you may see trails running through the snow where rabbits have been moving from shrub to shrub as they feed. Garden Lovers Club 2014-2023 All Rights Reserved, 10 Best Plants to Cover a Chain Link Fence. These long-lived perennials are resilient as long as you stake up their heavy late springtime flowers to keep them from spilling on the ground after a heavy rain. Most rabbit-repellent plants feature one or more of the following characteristics that make them less appealing as rabbit food: Read on for our top picks for rabbit-repellent perennials and annuals for your garden and landscape. If you have cats, plant the catnip in a place where your cats can rub and roll on it without damaging your other plants. Adding fencing can be most effective. They need regular watering, but can tolerate short droughts. Along with excellent rabbit resistance, irises offer gorgeous flowers that come in a rainbow of colors. to determine whether its safe to grow in your region. This clean-cut damage often happens at ground level, as rabbits tend to eat the yummy green shoots of tulips and other plants. They can also take up space in an outdoor garden. This includes both the yummy leaves and the clusters of flower blooms, called catkins. But they have many different aliases. There is another species of plants called perilla mint (also called beefsteak mint or Japanese basil) that is toxic for rabbits. Columbine requires moist, well-drained soil with full sun to partial shade to thrive, and it has the added bonus of attracting hummingbirds. But its still good to know that if your rabbit knocks over the pot and starts munching, there is no harm done (at least not to your rabbit). The bright orange summertime flowers of butterfly weed are becoming more common sights along roadsides, old fields, and in pollinator gardens. Their upright blade-like foliage has an eye-catching form, even when the plants aren't in bloom. Rabbits usually enter gardens from adjoining common land, farms or woods. Its seeds and leaves also contain triterpenoids, which are toxic to rabbits and cause liver and kidney failure as well as gastrointestinal problems such as vomiting and diarrhea. Some gardeners say the plants smell pleasantly minty, while others complain of a skunk-like or catty odor. Rabbits grazing in your flower beds will simply eat around the less enticing plants. Dipladenia plant care. Chamomile is a completely safe herb for rabbits to eat. While children (and adults) love playing with snapdragon blooms to make the little flowers snap open, rabbits find the plants unpalatable. Give salvias full sun to light shade, in garden spots with average, well-drained soil. Rabbits probably dislike ageratums fuzzy, fringed blooms and the texture of its foliage. Rabbits also tend to avoid plants that exude a milky sap. Ive designed adorable bunny apparel! This includes the leaves, twigs, branches and flowers. Bee Balm plants love full sun and moist, well-drained soil, and do well in USDA zones 4-9. Butterflies and hummingbirds, on the other hand, love the tubular flowers. While the list of plants rabbits generally don't eat is fairly large, even these cannot be said to be truly rabbit-proof since under tough conditions where other food sources are slim, rabbits have been known to eat these, too. Zinnias are some of the most popular annual flowers because they are durable and easy to grow in harsh conditions. A nearly indestructible shade garden plant, hellebores bloom in late winter or early spring and produce black, red, pink, white, cream, or green flowers. Hardy in USDA zones 4 through 8, columbine blooms a wide range of colorful flowers in May and June. Try the plants in borders, rock gardens and mixed beds. Brussels sprouts. Strangely enough, they don't mind the thorns on rose bushes and will happily munch them to the ground. If you're in doubt about whether or not a particular flower is OK for your pet to eat, the safest choice is to avoid feeding it to your bunny. Mints are all safe for rabbits to eat. These flowers are tasty enough that even humans might like them! They can be much more toxic than poison plants, so be sure to pay attention to any chemicals you use to keep your garden and plants looking nice. Also like people, when rabbits are hungry enough, they'll eat just about anything. Of plants called perilla mint ( also called beefsteak mint or Japanese basil ) that is toxic rabbits! 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