Do you have any suggestions for how to eradicate the rabbits that have totally destroyed my garden? I’ve tried hot pepper and endless types of rabbit repellent. Nothing seems to work. Are there any rabbit-resistant plants?
— V. Antimuro, Chicago
The bad news is that rabbits will eat just about anything in a garden.
In winter, rabbits clip off branches and eat the bark of woody plants. This damage can appear fairly high in a plant if there has been good snow cover for rabbits to stand on. You can identify the damage on branches by cleanly cut surfaces that are usually at a 45-degree angle, as though cut with a pair of pruners.
Rabbits seem to prefer plants in the rose family, which includes roses and cotoneasters. The more rabbits there are in your garden, the greater the range of plants they will eat. They can make quick work of a newly planted vegetable garden, focusing on peas, peppers, lettuce, beans and beets.
Installing chicken-wire fencing is a good way to keep rabbits away from high-value plants or beds of plants. Generally a 24-inch-tall fence will be adequate, if it is secured at the bottom so they cannot burrow underneath. Some dogs will chase rabbits out of a yard.
Repellents must be applied before there is extensive damage and must be reapplied after rain. Read the label of any product you use in the vegetable garden to confirm that it is approved for use on edibles and how long to wait before eating the vegetables.
Rabbits dislike certain plants that have a strong fragrance, especially with a bad or bitter taste. They have very sensitive noses and can associate a smell with a bad taste experience. (However, a rabbit that is hungry enough will eat unpleasant plants.)
There are many lists of plants that are resistant to rabbit feeding, often with conflicting advice. You will need to experiment on your own. I have observed these to be relatively resistant: yew, boxwood, “Gro-Low” fragrant sumac, potentilla , lilac, spirea, forsythia, catmint, yarrow, astilbe, Russian sage, geranium, wax-leaf begonia, tomato, potato, pachysandra, daffodil and ornamental onion.
Tim Johnson is director of horticulture for the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe (chicagobotanic.org). Send questions to: Gardening Q&A, Sunday, Chicago Tribune, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611-4041; e-mail to sunday@tribune.com.
