I’ve grown Allium ‘Milleninum’ for several years without any issues and have regularly sung its many praises. It produces dozens of long-blooming rosy-purplish blooms in mid to late summer. And when it does go to seed, it does not produce unwanted seedlings as other ornamental onions do. The flowers attract more pollinators than almost anything else in the garden. It’s never been bothered by disease, is able to tolerate drought, and the aromatic foliage has been absolutely ignored by our growing population of rabbits.
It’s been a regular jewel in the crown for a garden….
All of those statements have been 100% true until this year. This year, there a war going on in the summer garden that has caused me to back down on one of the positives of this impressive allium.
Rabbits!
They have discovered they love the tasty onion blades of leaves surrounding the blooms. It’s been a semi-disaster for the plants. Instead of thick tuffs of attractive greenery surrounding the forming buds, my allium plants look more like this:
I have cages of chicken wire surrounding the plants. I use sprinkles of chili powder, and both granules and squirt bottles of Liquid Fence for rabbits around all of the ornamental garden now.
I am armed with these weapons as I slip out in the early morning garden to see what damage has been done. I fear it’s a losing battle and I’m looking more and more like Bill Murray and the tenacious gopher in Caddyshack. Very frustrating for me but I’m sure I’m providing much entertainment for the neighbors!
One thing I have learned from the 4 or 5 rabbits I see daily, there is no plant that is absolutely off limits to rabbits. They will sample everything in the garden until they find favorites. That’s why the Allium ‘Millenium’ is always touted as rabbit resistant and never as rabbit proof. Sigh…
Unfortunately I have a similar problem with the groundhogs who have nibbled down the phlox,asters, and balloon flowers.Far be it for them to eat the weeds! I feel your pain.
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Oh no! Then your garden is the real site of the Caddyshack gopher! I think I’d just throw in the hat if I saw a groundhog in the garden. How do you fight that??
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Living in the country I know there are a lot of things that ruin my garden and flower beds. Have built cages around things for years. It is stressful to deal with the problems you are having. Hope the neighbors have sympathy for all your efforts to save your flowers and plants.
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I think I may amuse the neighbors more than invoke their sympathy. I’m sure the rabbits and I will come to a compromise. There are plenty of yummy things to eat… like CLOVER! 😄
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For some unknown reason, they avoid certain parts of the landscapes, and have done so for as long anyone can remember. It is a mystery. They can do a lot of damage everywhere else. There are only two species here. The tiny cottontails do the most damage.
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It’s the cottontails that love our neighborhood, too. I have prepared a smorgasbord of tender edibles for them. They are sampling everything until they find favorites. Wish those bunnies weren’t so darn cute!
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I wish they were a bit meatier.
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🤣
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I’m with Betsy – why can’t they eat the weeds. I’ve got something chewing ‘some’ hosta. Not all, like deer usually do, but some. We had the ground hogs at one of our MG projects that ate everything except the chives, and a friend had ground hogs mow down an entire bed over the weekend. This gardening passion is not for the faint of heart anymore. 🙂
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Oh no! Not the hosta! I’ve been way too fortunate thus far. I’m sure my hosta will be the next to go. So sad about your native plant garden but your solution with cages seems to do the trick.
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Gosh they just eat everything! I do enjoy the Caddyshack reference though 🙂 Well done.
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Love the Caddyshack reference. We’d all be happier if we could train the little buggers to weed the garden, not demolish. For me it has been in cycles….some years no issue, then other years complete devastation…..
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🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇
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