Something is eating my new lilies from the ground up. First all the leaves go, then the entire top of the plant. I did see a slug on one and immediately started putting our slug bait. I haven't seen anymore slugs on them but the eating is still going on. I have one bed that now has zero lilies left in it. :)
Any ideas?
Gwen
What's eating my lilies?
Are the leaves disappearing or just turning brown and dying? Bottom up sounds like botrytis fungus to me.
I had one that turned brown and died. All the rest, and there are lots, are being eaten. Usually it takes 2 or 3 days for the leaves to go, eaten from the bottom up, and then the tops. Everything is perfectly green.
I just went out and put tons of slug bait out everywhere, and I'll look tonight and see what I can find.
I looked online and foud out about that red lily beetle and I'm pretty sure it's not that. For one thing, no mention of it being on the west coast yet. For another, it seems like the red beetle and disgusting larvae are pretty obvious to see and I've seen nothing like that. (Thank goodness!)
I'm thinking it still might be slugs, even tho I've baited. Hopefully I'll find some culprits tonight.
Gwen
I really thought rabbits were eating mine - a few people suggested deer but I live in a pretty urban/suburban area and really thought that impossible... however a neighbor took this picture from his window of my next door neighbor's garden!
It's rabbits.
Particularly smaller / younger ones will take a couple days to nibble the leaves before chomping the stem. Bigger rabbits will just chomp the stem and go for the buds, in my experience.
Get some Plantskydd, and good luck.
Well, then, there's your answer. We're lousy with rabbits. No deer as we're completely fenced in. The occasional deer does get in but I know it's not deer eating the lilies. Okay, today I'll blast them with Liquid Fence and see what happens. I didn't think it was deer due to the very patterned way they were being eaten but I can definitely see them chomping off the top. I also had put dog hair on the lilies which will sometimes keep the bunnies off.
Those wousy wittle wabbits - I really hate them!
Gwen
Me too! Why can't they just sit there in the grass, and sweetly nibble the clover?
The reason I know the difference in eating habits, according to their size, is because I spend a lot of time chasing them with my BB gun. It's more work to chase those little ones.
Well, at least now I know I can just put a little bunny fence around them and they should be fine --- next year. Not a lot of hope for this year. :(
Gwen
Oh Moby, the visions I have of you with your BB gun are priceless! :) LOL
I used blood meal. Great fertilizer, but has to be reapplied quite often.
Oh boy, this makes me feel less alone! Bunnies have devoured every one of my lilies that isn't caged (that chicken wire is SUCH an attractive garden ornament, LOL) or in a pot. In addition, they have nibbled to death my favorite phlox (Rosalinde) as well as the gooseneck loosestrife. Unbelievable, the appetites of these critters.
Is that why none of the 30 phlox I planted this spring has come up????? Grrrrrr. Blood meal is a great deterrant. Unfortunately it causes my dogs to go nuts and dig in the yard. So it's either bunnies or dogs. BUT, one of my dogs has just had ccl surgery and it confined to quarters with an e-collar for a looooong time. Maybe if I only have one dog to keep out of the bushes...
Gwen