The Lemon Fool

Last Autumn I bought some tulip bulbs. I put some in fairly high pots and some in the border. The ones in the high pots (as in about a foot or so high) are doing very well and are most attractive at my front door now that the daffodils are more or less past. The ones in the border were doing well until yesterday and the buds were showing colour on some but today they have all been eaten almost down to ground level. I am not sure of the predator but we have roe deer which are known to help themselves from time to time and also I think rabbits. They might have difficulty reaching the tulips in pots so I suspect they may be the culprit. Most of us fence off our back gardens partly for privacy but also to keep deer out.

Any ideas? If I leave the tulip bulbs in the border I will try to protect them next year.

Dod

All your suggestions are possible, especially the rabbits and the deer. But are the bulbs still present? Squirrels have been murdering our tulips this year, and the big attraction is usually the part below the ground.

Mind you, the tell-tale signs are unmissable. Earth scattered everywhere. Anyone for squirrel pie?

BJ

bungeejumper wrote:All your suggestions are possible, especially the rabbits and the deer. But are the bulbs still present? Squirrels have been murdering our tulips this year, and the big attraction is usually the part below the ground.

Mind you, the tell-tale signs are unmissable. Earth scattered everywhere. Anyone for squirrel pie?

BJ

Quite agree. If the bulbs are eaten, it's 99% squirrels. I gave up and where I used to have lots of snowdrops and crocus, I now have bluebells and daffodils. The squirrels ate the former but leave the latter alone. I know daffodils are toxic, the squirrels seem to know it too. No idea about bluebells.

bungeejumper wrote:All your suggestions are possible, especially the rabbits and the deer. But are the bulbs still present? Squirrels have been murdering our tulips this year, and the big attraction is usually the part below the ground.

Mind you, the tell-tale signs are unmissable. Earth scattered everywhere. Anyone for squirrel pie?

BJ

My bulbs are untouched so I guess not squirrels although we have them aplenty round my way.

Dod

Deer, no doubt in my mind. I look after a small garden on the edge of a village. All the young foliage has been eaten off the roses this year, and the underlying tulips have been eaten down to the ground several weeks ago, though they have since put on about 4 inches of growth.

Nimrod103 wrote:Deer, no doubt in my mind. I look after a small garden on the edge of a village. All the young foliage has been eaten off the roses this year, and the underlying tulips have been eaten down to the ground several weeks ago, though they have since put on about 4 inches of growth.

Interesting. That pretty well describes my bulbs. People do not, on the whole, accept that roe deer come to our little road in the night but I have found them there occasionally if very late.

Dod

Dod101 wrote:Last Autumn I bought some tulip bulbs. I put some in fairly high pots and some in the border. The ones in the high pots (as in about a foot or so high) are doing very well and are most attractive at my front door now that the daffodils are more or less past. The ones in the border were doing well until yesterday and the buds were showing colour on some but today they have all been eaten almost down to ground level. I am not sure of the predator but we have roe deer which are known to help themselves from time to time and also I think rabbits. They might have difficulty reaching the tulips in pots so I suspect they may be the culprit. Most of us fence off our back gardens partly for privacy but also to keep deer out.

Any ideas? If I leave the tulip bulbs in the border I will try to protect them next year.

Dod

Squirrels, rats, moles, slugs and snails. Squirrels usually destroy the flower but don't eat it. Slugs and snails usually only eat the flower, not the stork and leaves.

My best guess would be rabbits.

AiY(D)

BullDog wrote:

bungeejumper wrote:All your suggestions are possible, especially the rabbits and the deer. But are the bulbs still present? Squirrels have been murdering our tulips this year, and the big attraction is usually the part below the ground.

Mind you, the tell-tale signs are unmissable. Earth scattered everywhere. Anyone for squirrel pie?

BJ

Quite agree. If the bulbs are eaten, it's 99% squirrels. I gave up and where I used to have lots of snowdrops and crocus, I now have bluebells and daffodils. The squirrels ate the former but leave the latter alone. I know daffodils are toxic, the squirrels seem to know it too. No idea about bluebells.

For tulips and crocus, indeed, for pretty much most bulbs other than daffs, I put down chicken wire mesh netting over them, below the top 1cm or so of soil. Stops the little buggers from digging them up and eating them.

But I agree that squirrels snacking doesn't sound like Dod's problem in this case...

I will try again next year but will certainly introduce some protection. I will report back, if I am able by then.

Dod

I have rabbits and fallow/muntjac deer.

If rabbits are eating the tulips there will be tell tale scrapes in the area, deer will leave plenty of droppings around. Rabbits will eat bulbs and make it obvious by digging to get at them, if they eat the tops they rarely eat all of them. Deer won't go for the bulbs but they are very fond of flowers, they will eat the green parts but usually don't bother.

We keep an eye on the garden and plants so if deer have been in the garden we can tell straight away by the fresh droppings. I tend to cover rabit scrapes as they appear by pushing the soil back with my foot that way I know any that appear are new.

I'm in the process of putting rabbit wire on all the external fences to reduce their access points but it's a long process. I can't keep the deer out but I have excluded them from the fruit and veg area by surrounding it with a 6' high fence.

sg31 wrote:I have rabbits and fallow/muntjac deer.

If rabbits are eating the tulips there will be tell tale scrapes in the area, deer will leave plenty of droppings around. Rabbits will eat bulbs and make it obvious by digging to get at them, if they eat the tops they rarely eat all of them. Deer won't go for the bulbs but they are very fond of flowers, they will eat the green parts but usually don't bother.

We keep an eye on the garden and plants so if deer have been in the garden we can tell straight away by the fresh droppings. I tend to cover rabit scrapes as they appear by pushing the soil back with my foot that way I know any that appear are new.

I'm in the process of putting rabbit wire on all the external fences to reduce their access points but it's a long process. I can't keep the deer out but I have excluded them from the fruit and veg area by surrounding it with a 6' high fence.

My problem is in my front border with a low traditional dry stone wall between me and the public road. It is wide open with very easy access. My main garden is protected by high wooden fences or even higher hedges and I do not get deer there, nor even much evidence of rabbits, although there would be easy enough access.

Dod