The Rabbits Have Eaten My Entire Asiatic Lily Garden, Stripping…
Tami Asked
The rabbits have eaten my entire Asiatic lily garden, stripping all the leaves off the plants as well as munching the stems off. Will the lilies survive and come up next year?
The Gardener’s Answer
Hello, Tami: Rabbits are very cute but when they eat our gardens it is easy to change our feelings for them. Asiatic lilies are a tasty treat for them and once they find a food source it will take significant effort to deter them from this buffet. The good news is that the lilies will return next year. Asiatic lilies are bulbs so as long as the rabbits have not dug up the actual bulb, which I doubt, they will put on new growth. The downfall is yes, of course, you did not get to enjoy your lilies but also that the foliage did not have much time to photosynthesize and collect the nutrients necessary for storing in the bulb during the winter months. This means you may need to consider feeding them in the late fall or early spring with a product such as Bulb-Tone. It may be that the new growth occurs this summer and if so try to protect it from the rabbits. There are many products on the market made specifically for deterring rabbits. Most of them are organic made of garlic and eggs, and some of urine of a predatory animal. They do not smell good but the scent dissipates to us after application but the rabbits will smell it for weeks. These products are available in both liquid and granular form and need to be reapplied after about a month or after a hard rainfall. Borders and fences are another option. If they cannot get to the food they will hop away and find something else it eat. The trick is to discourage them early in the season.
