Oh no! My hyacinths apparently started power sprouting while they were still under two feet of snow. Now that the snow has finally melted I can see that they are already about six inches high, but they are definitely not straight and are completely yellow from lack of sun. Some of the leaves also have brown spots on them. Someone please tell me that the sun will green them up and they'll survive to bloom!
I've also discovered how the bunny living under our shed got so fat over the winter. He didn't eat my bulbs like I suspected he may have. What he did do was trim my three variegated willow bushes down from their previous height and width of about 4' by 4' to a piddly 1 1/2' by 1 1/2'. Sighhhh. If they survive I guess I'll have to wrap them in burlap next winter or something. Will that work do you think?
--Ginny
Snow cover, early bulbs, and wascally wabbits
I don't have a lot of experience with hyacinths Ginny, but I expect they will green up soon and be fine. I think they are one of the bulbs that rabbits don't eat? but not sure about that. Your willow shouldn't be any the worse for the pruning either, but you could use some hot pepper around it and other treasures you are afraid of losing. I will soon be going out with the cayenne powder and my Louisianna Hot Sause to sprinkle and squirt around.
Thanks for the tip about hot pepper and hot sauce. I'll try that. How much do you use (does it matter?) and how often does it need to be reapplied? I'm not sure that it would work in the winter though when there is two or three feet of snow on the ground? You know the really sad part - that darn bunny is so cute I can't even make myself get really mad at him. LOL I've even considered feeding him all the carrots and lettuce he can handle hoping that if he's well fed he'll leave my plants alone and I can just enjoy him. You know - if you can't beat 'em, join 'em :-) Oh Gawd - I just had an awful thought. What if he's a she and has a whole litter of little baby bunnies. I'd definitely go broke trying to feed them all, wouldn't I. What a dilemna, I'm such a sucker for a furry face. --Ginny
I mix up an icecream pail with water and a little soap and add the hot sauce until I can really smell it, take an old paintbrush and just splash and flick it around on the plants and ground around them. Sometimes I use a squirt bottle. Or just sprinkle a little cayenne from the bag if the plants are damp and on the ground where I want to discourage them. It's all an experiment, depending on how diligent feel or how lazy I am. It would work on the snow too, but of course rain and snow quickly dilutes it. I think sometimes, they just don't come back for a while whether you pepper or not. They have really lost most of the cuteness factor for me. At least in my yard.
echoes
thanks for the receipe as I know I will be using it if those darm little cute bunnies are in my flowers,,
don't know how many times I chased them last year.
wilma
Something we discovered last fall--if any of you have outdated bear spray, save it and use it on your plants the same way as Brenda described. (Just don't stand downwind like I did when I was trying to discourage some squirrels.)
BTW--NEVER use outdated or non-CSA approved bear spray! It could killl you. Well, IT wouldn't but the bear you're ineffectively spraying might.
Cute little bunnies...... You jest. No not even a jest, royal pain.
Inanda
Yes they are a royal pain, but they are kinda cute,
they might make good rabbit stew??
Have you ever tried the electrified wire? A friend put it around her vegetable garden a few years ago because the neighbour's cats were always in there digging everything up. It doesn't hurt them but apparently it only to took one little zap to stop them totally. I think after that you only need to have a strand of wire around the garden and they won't go near it because she had it turned off the rest of the summer and had no problems. If you have a large garden you could put it around one bed then replace it with plain wire and put the real thing around another bed, etc. until the whole garden is protected.
Sandy
As a child growing up in the country we ate rabbit stew often, and it was quite yummy. I don't know about you ladies, but my first problem now would be actually changing its life status, especially if it looked at me with those big round eyes.....even if I somehow managed to close my eyes and just do it, I probably wouldn't be able to eat it because I'd see those big round eyes in my mind constantly. LOL what a softy I've turned into! --Ginny