Your rabbit can eat celery. If that happens to be a poisonous plant, they may end up eating a lot before you even notice. 6 Reasons Rabbits Will Flip Over Their Food and Water Bowls. This plant also has nutritional and medicinal value. If leaves continue to yellow and drop, you may need to spray your plant weekly to destroy new mealybugs as they emerge from their waxy egg sacs. Rabbits can eat chamomile both fresh and dried, and it is often a very yummy treat for rabbits. Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) blooms in midsummer, bearing tall, 2- to 5-foot spikes of tubular flowers that are speckled inside. Whats even better is that clippings from willow trees dont need to be dried like many other types of wood. A member of the aster family, Tickseed comes in several forms that produce cheerful summer flowers in shades of yellow, orange, red, or maroon. They bloom best in full sun, but partial shade is fine, especially during the hottest months of the year. Many gardeners bring their plants inside to overwinter, where theyll continue to produce flowers if they get enough sun. While not incredibly nutritious, daisies can be a yummy treat for your rabbit. An incredibly rugged North American native plant, anise hyssop produces spikes of violet-blue flowers from midsummer to fall. In particular, rabbits love to feast on tomatoes, corn, carrots, cucumbers, and hot peppers. The teeth marks are often evident in the wood of the shrub or tree. By Mark Wolfe Updated Mar 4, 2022 11:31 PM. They will devour tender shoots in spring and gnaw through bark in the winter. F. Plants and mushrooms associated with animal poisoning incidents in South Africa. This low-care plant is wonderfully drought resistant, too, so you can plant it and enjoy it without much care. Theres nothing quite like the frustration of carefully planting and caring for your garden, only for a family of rabbits to show up and mow your plants right down to the ground! Ajuga plants are evergreen or semi-evergreenand are hardy in zones 3-9. There are some herbal loose leaf tea mixes that include rose hips or rose petals that can actually be very yummy to use as foraging treats for rabbits (check all the ingredients in the mix before giving it to your rabbit). What Do Rabbits Eat? Some have strongly scented leaves or flowers, while others contain distasteful or poisonous substances. Some gardeners say rabbits love to dine on their lantana, but others report that they avoid the plants because of the leaves' pungent aroma. Known as a hardy, drought-resistant perennial, yarrow works well in sun-loving cottage garden settings and in wildflower gardens. Well-draining, loamy, or sandy soil is best and should be kept moist. This rabbit-resistant plant tolerates heat and drought well. Some people believe that rabbits will eat any type of plant, but this is not true. But every once in a while, youll come across a rabbit whos not picky and is happy to eat anything, including lavender. Selecting rabbit resistant plants isnt a sure-fire solution because the critters will eat nearly anything if theyre hungry and food is scarce. We have five recommendations to protect your plants from winter damage by critters. Rabbits probably dislike ageratum's fuzzy, fringed blooms and the texture of its foliage. Its seeds and leaves also contain triterpenoids, which are toxic to rabbits and cause liver and kidney failure as well as gastrointestinal problems such as vomiting and diarrhea. Dianthus leaves: Rabbits eat dianthus leaves. Vet Rec Open, vol. Severe feeding may even kill the plants. Rabbits inflict their most significant damage in fall by chewing on woody plants until they're more vulnerable to cold. Select from the many easy-to-grow daylily varieties available and grow them in a sunny spot. In the meantime, gardeners need solutions. FAQs. However, there are some instances where rabbits will eat garden plants. Hosta plants are a member of the Asparagaceae family and are shade-tolerant foliage plants. If any clover pops up in your rabbit run, they are sure to munch it up. If . Water once every 8 days and feed once in the spring with a slow-release fertilizer. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. Visible signs that rabbits are finding and eating your pumpkins are: Clean Cuts on Plant Parts: Unlike insects and other pests that leave jagged-edged cuts on leaves and other plant parts that they eat, rabbits leave clean cuts. Crown imperial is one of the most popular species. Rabbits do eat dianthus plants. Butterflies, bees, and a variety of insects are attracted to these showy flowers, which bloom from June to October. This easy-to-grow perennial adds great texture to many other front-of-the-border plants. It is a good source of fiber, antioxidants, and vitamins A and C. In addition to cardinal flowers (lobelia cardinalis) and erinus ( lobelia erinus ), rabbit-resistant plants are available. These do best with full sunlight, but can survive in partial shade. Hydrangeas. The blooms range from bright red to shades of purple and blue. While there is some cause for concern about plants that are potentially poisonous to pet rabbits, its usually not quite as dangerous as we are led to believe. Boston bibb lettuce. The french marigolds are slightly less toxic and are likely to only cause some skin irritation, but its best to be on the safe side and keep them away from rabbits. How To: Make and Use Your Own Deer Repellent, compounds in the flowers and foliage protect snapdragons, 10 Plants Sure to Stop Deer in Their Tracks, Unpalatable foliage that is spiky, jagged, prickly, fuzzy, or leathery, Leaves, stems, and flowers with strong fragrance. Their diets include grasses, clover and some cruciferous plants, such as broccoli and Brussels sprouts. Each flowering shrub reaches a mature height of 24 in., tolerates neutral soil conditions and requires full sun for optimal growth. Chives and other alliums (such as onions), sage, yarrow, and catmint are just as distasteful to rabbits as they are to deer. While some varieties are pink or white, blue is the most common color. Its best to make sure any indoor potted plants are safe for rabbits, or to keep them completely away from your rabbits reach. Keep house plants high up where your rabbits can't reach them, and if possible, in rooms your rabbits don't go into. Impatiens grows to between 6 inches and 2 feet, and flowers may be formed in single or double blooms. Most rabbit-repellent plants feature one or more of the following characteristics that make them less appealing as rabbit food: Unpalatable foliage that is spiky, jagged, prickly, fuzzy, or. But the mild toxicity of the flowers and foliage repels rabbits. Rabbits do have an appetite that varies with the different growing periods. Marie Iannotti is a life-long gardener and a veteran Master Gardener with nearly three decades of experience. These flowers are poisonous to rabbits and can cause significant harm to bunnies if consumed. If a rabbit were to eat anything animal-based it would get a very upset stomach - or worse! Still, there are some plants that are so tasty to rabbits that merely to plant them is to risk inviting rabbits to take up residence in your yard. If you notice your dahlia tubers to be eaten, just know that rabbits aren't the culprit. The plants begin blooming in early spring and continue through midsummer. Bee Balm plants love full sun and moist, well-drained soil, and do well in USDA zones 4-9. Of course, this doesnt include mint flavored candies or gum, but the plants are all safe for rabbits to eat. So voracious are rabbits that it may be easier to list the plants that aren't eaten by rabbits than to list all the plants that are at risk. Catnip is not a very showy plant, so it can be planted near more showy blooms, like Purple Cone Flowers. The Spruce uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. You may only need to plant them once for many years of beautiful summer flowers. The prickly pear cactus, a juicy food for insects, birds and mammals. If your rabbit has an outdoor run or time outside on a leash, you dont have to worry about them foraging around and munching on these yummy plants. Add a teaspoon of crushed red pepper and one teaspoon of dish soap. Many people believe that hay in rabbit cages are simply for bedding. Nasturtiums are tasty flowers for rabbits to snack on. But just like most animals, rabbits will eat just about anything if theyre hungry enough! Copyright 2023 Acton Media Inc. All rights reserved. They can be a very yummy treat that rabbits will happily gobble up. The flowers, leaves, and stems are all safe for rabbits and completely edible. Its also very important to pay attention to any fertilizers or pesticides that are used with the plants your rabbit is eating. Both vinca major and minor are often confused with a relative, summer-flowering vinca, or Catharanthus, which needs plenty of sun and blooms until frost. They're usually planted at the front of garden borders or near tender lily bulbs to act as an animal deterrent and to provide a whimsical landscape design. This is probably not a plant that I would specifically give to a rabbit because it doesnt have all that much nutritional value, but its okay if your rabbit nibbles on some in your garden or manages to knock down your potted plant and eat part of it. Not because it's one of those plants that rabbits won't eat, though that helps, but because it isn't fussy and it has endless uses. Ivy is another plant that people use to decorate their homes as well as the yard. Vegetation that is not toxic and is readily available will often be munched by a wild rabbit. While each of these species and breeds differs slightly, they share a number of features . Moderation is crucial in a rabbit's healthy diet, containing no more than 5% treats. Fences and repellents help protect susceptible garden plants from these hungry pests. Humidity is not too important, but temperatures must be above 65 (18.3). Often, native plants are relatively rabbit resistant more so than non-native (exotic) plants. Visit the. 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