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Speaker 1: Broadcasting from spring Like Studio A here at proven winner's

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color Choice Shrubs. It's The Gardening Simplified Show with Stacy,

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Hervella me, Rick Weist, and our engineer and producer Adrianna Robinson.

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Well hop to it. It's spring. Don't look now, but

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somebody's eating your prized plants. I hear from people. If

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nature isn't eating your garden, then your garden isn't part

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of nature.

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Speaker 2: That's true.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, but to me, it's like saying you're doing the

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best you can. It's nice to say, but it doesn't help.

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I mean, let's be honest about this. All these little

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critters are cute until they take something out of your garden. Rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, fawns,

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and rabbits are herbivores and true to their nature, they

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consume a large number of plants. I think about rabbits

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in the landscape in the garden, Stacey, I think about

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the three bees brush. If you have brush around, odds

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are they're going to nest near your gardens, so you

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have to take action on brush piles. Babies they're so cute,

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they're adorable, and there's lots of them, lots and lots

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of babies, and of course rabbits. I've heard statistics that

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rabbits have something like an eighty percent predation.

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Speaker 2: Right, Oh, that makes sense. It's going to be, you know,

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corresponding to the number of young they have. The more

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young something has, the more likely it is to be

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you know, preyed upon.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, they have so many predators. And then the third

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bee would be beans. If you want to put out

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a welcome matt for rabbits, just plant some beans. I'm

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just amazed when I plant beans how it just draws them.

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And rabbits love bean plants because the young, tender leave,

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shoots and sprouts are highly palatable, easy to chew, packed

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with nutrients, their young growth often emerging in spring. It's

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kind of like a sweet, succulent snack. They graze on it.

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I hope it gives them gas.

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Speaker 2: But Rick, now, I thought your three bees were going

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to be bunny bun bun and bunny rabbits, And I

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have to say I'm a little disappointed at the moment.

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But as for the last point, yeah, they will eat

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any young plant. Yes, you know, especially in the vegetable garden.

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Anything that you like to eat. Chances are they very

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much like to eat as well, So yeah, that's beans

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might be a favorite. But anything in the veg garden

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is going to definitely need to be protected from rabbits.

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Speaker 1: You bet well, You may ask, do I have a

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rabbit problem? Rabbits are crepuscular, which means they operate in twilight.

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They're most active during dawn and dusk. So if you

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actually haven't caught them or seen them in the act

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of destroying your landscape or your garden, here's some signs

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you've spotted pea sized droppings. I call them cocoa puffs

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or bunny berries. Plants look like they've been trimmed with

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pruners rather than nibbled on. They've got quite a set

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of upper and lower chompers.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, when they do damage a plant, it's very distinctive.

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It's like as if someone had taken a pair of

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pruners and just cut at an angle, and the angles

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always the same. It's like a thumbprint or something that

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they leave across.

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Speaker 1: It's crazy, it really is. If young tender plants have disappeared,

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or you find tufts of hair or spots where it

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looks like a small animal's been digging, maybe even drip

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lines or some hoses have been chewed on. And then

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of course as we come out of winter in areas

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where we get a lot of snow, we'll see gnawing

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on the bark of trees. Trees can be girdled and destroyed,

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so spring can be a problem. Tender vegetation after winter,

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and rabbits are attracted to lush vegetation, a reliable, high

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moisture food source and of course necessary cover for protection.

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So I guess you know, some of the things that

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we've got to take a look at and in dealing

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with them is the habits of rabbits. You have to

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think like an ant. You've got to be almost like

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Bill Murray in Caddyshack, for example, for people who have

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house rabbits. Many people do have rabbits as pets. I

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understand there's a three three three rule. Three days for

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the rabbit to feel safe decompression, three weeks to settle

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into a routine, and three months to build trust and

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show their true personality bonding. So in the yard and

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in the garden, if those things don't exist in their jittery,

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it may help with rabbit control.

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Speaker 2: Hmmm, just thinking about this because I did have a

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pet rabbit. He was just the sweetest, most delightful thing.

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Learned a lot about rabbits from having a pet rabbit,

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and yeah, he sometimes they can be very nervous, but

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he made himself right at home in our little apartment

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and uh just lived like a king for all of

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his years. So I definitely know when they feel safe,

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they feel, you know, virtually no fear. They never truly

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lose their predation instinct, knowing that they could be preyed

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upon it any minute. So they can be easily spooked,

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but once they start to trust you, And I think

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I'm going to talk a lot more about this in

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plants on tip. Okay, good, but I think, yeah, if

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they if they feel mostly safe in your yard, then

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they're going to be more prevalent in your yard.

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Speaker 1: Well. I never had a pet bunny, but I have

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read Beatrix Potter's The Tail of Peter Rabbit, and I

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know a picket fence isn't going to work in my landscape.

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I use chicken wire. Make sure to sink the chicken

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wire into the soil in a surrounding fence, because I

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think when it comes to rabbits, probably some sort of

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physical barrier is the best deterrent, and I think one

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of the things you got to do is walk your

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property and look for a smooz. Now a smooze, isn't

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you know where you're smoothing a client that's smoozing, Yeah, schmoozing,

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whereas this is s m e uses.

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Speaker 2: From you here on the gardening simplified.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, So it's an habitual hole or a gap through

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at the base of a hedge or a fence. And

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for people who trap them, they look for these smoozes.

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But you can do the same. Those gaps are crucial

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for the movement of wildlife through landscapes and are more

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or less natural tunnels. Of course, dogs will frequent them also,

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and if you have a dog or a cat, that's

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a natural bunny or rabbit deterrent also, well.

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Speaker 2: You know, I think, and we'll talk again more about

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the subplants on trial. One of the things that I've

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noticed a lot about rabbits and advice for dealing with rabbits,

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is that they make a lot of assumptions. Now there,

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I have a smooth in my yard going from my

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neighbor's yard into ours, So they're very happy rabbits that

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live between our two properties. And I have a number

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of neighbors who I will mostly keep my opinion to myself.

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Here have outdoor cats that are frequent in my yard.

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I mean I see the cats all the time. Walking

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through my yard does not deter those rabbits an inch.

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They are just as happy as could be. So I

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guess it depends on you know, the frequency of the visits,

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it's exactly, and the animals themselves. But you know, three

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or four cats that frequently come through our yard has

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not deterred the numerous rabbits that have taken up residents,

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so you know.

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Speaker 1: And it brings up a good point. There are so

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many things we can talk about in the show. For example,

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if you have a neighbor who has lots of clover

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in their yard, rabbits love clover and it will attract

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them to the area. Some people recommend using clover as

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a decoy so they leave your garden alone. I don't agree.

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Doesn't work. I would not recommend you.

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Speaker 2: We all know, right, you cannot just give a dog

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as much food as possible. It will eat until it's sick.

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And same with animals. They never know day to day

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if they're going to be in a survival situation, so

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they're not going to be like, ah, shoot, I just

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had my fill of clover. Guess I won't go bother

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anything else in the guards. They're just going to be like, hm,

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what else is around here? If there's this delicious clover?

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Speaker 1: I agree with you, and clover is like ice cream

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to rabbits. The thing that drives me crazy. And that's

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why I protect trees infall and rap trees young trees

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is because rabbits can do significant damage to young trees.

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And so in October November, as we head into winter,

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super important to protect your young trees. And with that,

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this week I wrote a girdled limb rick in honor

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of our rabbit friends. Spring is here. It's thawing, a

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conclusion I am drawing in winter, I'm inside, comfy, but

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now I'm outside grumpy. The rabbits have been gnawing, but

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they're fuzzy in They're adorable. Retribution would be deplorable. Can't

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we just get along? I know it can't be wrong,

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our relationships restorable. Nope, I've shed my gloves and ear muffs.

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This fight will come to fisticuffs now I'm really bumming.

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Look I saw it coming, the telltale sign of cocoa puffs.

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The bunny moon is over. You're cute, but I need

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closure before matters get too tents. I'm building an impenetrable fence.

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You stay out there and eat the clover. This conflict

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was predictable. Your presence is extricable. It's wabbit season, whereby

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it sh be very, very quiet. Old Elmer, you are despicable.

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Can you tell I'm passionate about this topic.

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Speaker 2: Yes, and you're about to hear my take on it

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in Plants on Trial, So everybody get ready.

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Speaker 1: Can't wait? That's coming up next here on the Gardening Simplified.

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Speaker 2: Show, beautify your home and community with proven Winner's Color

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Choice Shrubs with over three hundred and twenty five unique

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varieties to choose from. There's a flowering shrubber evergreen for

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every taste and every space. Just look for the distinctive

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white container your local garden center or learn more at

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proven Winner's Color Choice dot com. Goore Reeting's gardening friends,

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and welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show, where the

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topic of the day is rabbits. For a couple of reasons,

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here we are before Easter, and of course everyone associates

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Easter with rabbits. Second of all, because it's spring and

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the rabbits are mating, if not having actual babies in

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the yard, and that means they're hungry. And most importantly,

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spring brings all of that tender, soft, young growth, which,

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as you said, rick is their absolute favorite thing compared

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to that tough growth that comes on later in the summer.

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So all of those things combined to put rabbits on

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your mind. Now, as a former bunny mom myself, I

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would be remiss to not remind people that rabbits are

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actually very high maintenance pets. They are not like a

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hamster or something like that that you can just keep

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in a cage. They are like a cat that you

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can never leave alone interest. So if anyone is thinking, yes,

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they're adorable and they make wonderful pets if you can

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bond with them. Although personalities very widely, you know they

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are definitely not an easy pet to have. Their digestions

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are sensitive, so if you are thinking about a pet rabbit,

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definitely you want to think twice about that. Take it

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from me, But if you are prepared for everything that

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comes with the rabbit. They make great pets, and I

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learned a lot about rabbits having a pet rabbit, and

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I learned a lot about how they eat, what they

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eat and all of that. And so my unpopular opinion,

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my horticultural hot take for today's episode is I don't

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really mind having rabbits in my garden.

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Speaker 1: Interesting. Well, I will hand it to you that they

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produce a lot of good composts.

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Speaker 2: Yes, they do manure.

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Speaker 1: It's not hot, it's reusable.

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Speaker 2: It's all like, you know, it's like when we were

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talking about composts a couple of weeks ago, you know,

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we said, like, you don't want carnivore animal compost or

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you know, manure, you don't want omnivore animal manure, but vegetarians,

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which rabbits are perfectly fine.

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Speaker 1: Oh yeah, it's fantastic and it's everywhere, and I you know,

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it's something that drives me crazy is General Mills, the

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cereal people, why they picked Sonny the Cuckoo Bird as

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their mascot. They should have had a rabbit on the

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box of.

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Speaker 2: I don't know, trying to sell cereal, you know, all right,

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But so for all of the years that we've done

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the show, I have made my disdain for deer abundantly clear.

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And really what this comes down to is I don't

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mind rabbits because I do get to actually enjoy them.

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The rabbits in our yard are very gregarious. You know,

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we can be sitting there relaxing at the end of

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the day and they come out. I have had one

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actually walk up to my foot and sniff my foot

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before last summer, and so it's very interesting to kind

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of I honestly take it as a compliment that they've

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chosen to, you know, make our yard their home. It

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means a lot to me.

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Speaker 1: I agree with you one hundred percent. I would take

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a rabbit over deer any day.

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Speaker 2: Now. If the deer wanted to come around when we're

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hanging out in the yard and can watch them, that

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would be a totally different thing. I would feel much

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differently about the deer. Instead, the deer come in the

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dead of night, you know, maraud through your yard, leave

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a trail of giant cocoa puffs, and you know, damage everywhere,

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and the rabbits like at least you get to see

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them and watch them. And so it does make me

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think a lot about sort of the ecosystem. So I

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do believe that, yes, you know, it is a natural

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part of gardening to have some rabbit damage. But that said,

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rabbit damage can also get very abundant, and I'm not

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gonna lie, rabbit damage can also be very heartbreaking. Even

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though I do have a very high tolerance for the

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rabbits that visit our garden, it's not to say I've

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never had my heart broken. I cannot grow Alium's pherocephalon.

250
00:15:26,159 --> 00:15:30,360
The drumstick Alium such a great plant, Absolutely love it.

251
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I have planted hundreds of them, and not only do

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the rabbits munch them down. So as soon as that

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nice beautiful flower stock comes up, not only do the

254
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rabbits mow it down, they don't eat it. Yes, so

255
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they mow it down, they go, oh, you know, hey,

256
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delicious flower stock. Oh my gosh, this tastes like onions.

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Drop it. So then I don't have any drumstick Alium flowers,

258
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and I have this mulch of cut off drumstick Alium

259
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flowers that is frustrated. It is frustrating. Last year I

260
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had planted one hundred in one bed, and they took

261
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down every single one except one I.

262
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Speaker 1: Had the same experience with aliums.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so now you will see if you start doing

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some research onto rabbit resistant plants, consistently alium is on

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the list. Correct, not not so. And I can understand

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why people would say so, because of course they have

267
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that very strong and unique kind of aroma. But yeah,

268
00:16:26,840 --> 00:16:30,080
my rabbits eat have sampled every single alium in my

269
00:16:30,440 --> 00:16:32,440
maybe not quite every single one, but the majority of

270
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aliums that I have tried to grow. So basically all

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of this is to say that I would say, even

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more so than with deer, giving advice on rabbit resistant

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plants is difficult.

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Speaker 1: Yes.

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Speaker 2: You know, when I was researching the show, I was

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looking at university websites, which of course is my normal

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00:16:50,519 --> 00:16:54,519
habit to, you know, look up information from reputable sites,

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not just some person you know, spouting off, but like

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00:16:56,679 --> 00:17:01,879
universities basing this on real life, you know, experience, and

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you know the things that they were listening as rabbit resistant.

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I'm like, they back out of that. In my yard,

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they that every year, and then they go on to

283
00:17:09,279 --> 00:17:13,519
say plant lavender as a scent deterrent. Do you have

284
00:17:13,599 --> 00:17:15,960
any idea how much lavender I have in my yard,

285
00:17:16,079 --> 00:17:19,200
and how many bunnies I have in my yard. It's

286
00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:23,240
gonna work, It's not gonna work. Nothing is rabbit kryptonite,

287
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just in the same way that nothing is deer kryptonite.

288
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You can't. These are animals with a survival bent. They're

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not just gonna be like whoa lavender better turntail and

290
00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:38,240
run on the list. You know, they don't eat it, no,

291
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but its presence certainly does not deter them whatsoever. So

292
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I would encourage you to try, despite Rix's limerick, try

293
00:17:49,359 --> 00:17:52,759
to make a little peace with the rabbits. Give up

294
00:17:52,799 --> 00:17:56,920
on the things that you can't necessarily grow with them.

295
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And the other thing that I have I've really noticed

296
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about rabbits. It's quite interesting. Obviously, I get a lot

297
00:18:02,519 --> 00:18:05,559
of shrubs working here at prouven Winter's color Choice Shrubs,

298
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and what I have found consistently is that if you

299
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can get a plant that is big enough and thick enough,

300
00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:14,720
even if it's something the rabbits will normally eat, they

301
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don't go into the thick wood. They don't like the

302
00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:20,640
thick wood. They like thin wood. So a great example

303
00:18:20,680 --> 00:18:24,200
would be bloomerang lilac. Okay, you know, good deer resistant

304
00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:27,400
plant and mostly a rabbit resistant plant, except this plant

305
00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:30,559
kind of lightly suckers. It puts out new shoots all

306
00:18:30,599 --> 00:18:33,759
around the base every year, and every single year, the

307
00:18:33,839 --> 00:18:36,720
rabbits eat every single one of those new shoots that

308
00:18:36,839 --> 00:18:40,000
come out from the why because they're super thin, they're

309
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super soft. Everything is cut off in the exact same

310
00:18:43,319 --> 00:18:45,960
way at the exact same point because of their little

311
00:18:46,039 --> 00:18:48,079
rabbit heights. Although I have seen a rabbit stand on

312
00:18:48,119 --> 00:18:51,000
a tine legs to eat flowers, get up there and

313
00:18:51,119 --> 00:18:55,079
then stand and pull it down and eat it. So

314
00:18:55,720 --> 00:18:58,920
really you can grow almost anything if you can either

315
00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:01,960
protect it long enough to get to that larger size

316
00:19:02,039 --> 00:19:05,039
that it's not is appealing to rabbits, or you know

317
00:19:05,160 --> 00:19:07,720
you're buying a larger size to begin with. So if

318
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you have a lot of rabbits, I would say, just

319
00:19:10,160 --> 00:19:12,599
like I say with deer, buy the largest plants that

320
00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:15,599
you can. That is really going to help you because

321
00:19:15,680 --> 00:19:18,200
you don't have to worry about that thin, soft top growth.

322
00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:21,400
It's really the thin bottom growth that's a problem with

323
00:19:21,720 --> 00:19:24,359
the rabbits. So that's one of the easiest strategies that

324
00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:28,079
you can kind of take. But as far as what

325
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rabbits don't eat. I think there are some general rules

326
00:19:32,480 --> 00:19:35,759
that you can apply and that I have also seen.

327
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Number One, rabbits do not like things with hair on them. Yes,

328
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so potentilla great example.

329
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Speaker 1: Deer.

330
00:19:45,839 --> 00:19:48,079
Speaker 2: Yeah, neither do deer. I mean, Potentila is one of

331
00:19:48,079 --> 00:19:51,200
the most deerproof and rabbit proof plants that you can grow.

332
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It's not terribly heat tolerant. So sorry to all of

333
00:19:54,160 --> 00:19:57,000
our warm climate friends who probably have even more rabbits

334
00:19:57,079 --> 00:20:00,240
than we do in the north, but potentilla is one

335
00:20:00,319 --> 00:20:02,200
that they definitely won't eat. It has kind of this

336
00:20:02,400 --> 00:20:07,400
whitish hair all over it. Elderberry has a really strong smell.

337
00:20:07,880 --> 00:20:10,920
I've actually had deer eat my elderberry, but never rabbits.

338
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And you know I'm talking about sometimes even starting with

339
00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:16,559
really really small plants. Boxwood, another plant they've never touched,

340
00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:20,119
also has kind of a funky smell to in general,

341
00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:22,200
and which is kind of great. I mean that gives

342
00:20:22,240 --> 00:20:26,440
you a lot of really really nice plants. Big leaf hydranges,

343
00:20:26,599 --> 00:20:31,240
they don't bother because you always have that pretty thick stem.

344
00:20:31,359 --> 00:20:33,160
You know. These are not plants like the lilac. I

345
00:20:33,240 --> 00:20:35,839
just explain that have those little kind of shoots coming

346
00:20:35,839 --> 00:20:39,519
off them. They have big thicked stems, and the rabbits

347
00:20:39,559 --> 00:20:42,880
never touch those. They never touch oak leaf, hydrangees with

348
00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:46,079
that peeling bark, never touch butterfly bush. Now I'm not

349
00:20:46,119 --> 00:20:47,640
really sure why that is, because.

350
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Speaker 1: I think it's the soft, hairy foliage.

351
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Speaker 2: I guess, you know. But they deer don't eat it either,

352
00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:57,279
and it doesn't have like any particular smell or other characteristics.

353
00:20:57,319 --> 00:21:00,279
Nothing eats my perennial hibiscus, So that's kind of great.

354
00:21:00,440 --> 00:21:03,480
For Scythia milkweed, they never touch, Like I said, lavender,

355
00:21:04,240 --> 00:21:07,119
never touch it, but definitely does not deter anything. Nepaita

356
00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:10,720
another great plant. Another plant that I have that surprises

357
00:21:10,759 --> 00:21:14,519
me Solomon seal variegated Solomon seal. Sure nothing touches that,

358
00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:17,680
and that is such a wonderful plant. So you know,

359
00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:20,400
this is I have come over the years to kind

360
00:21:20,440 --> 00:21:24,240
of have this approach to gardening where I don't have

361
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the kind of yard I can easily fence in, and so, yeah,

362
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there are things that I can't grow or things that

363
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I love and have tried to grow and have had

364
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to give up. But overall, I think I much prefer

365
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the peaceful coexistence with the rabbits, they get food and shelter.

366
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I get to watch adorable bunnies every single year, and

367
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I call that a win win. So anyway, we will

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put this list, of course in YouTube, so you can

369
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get all of that information in case you are driving

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and listening to the podcast or radio version, and give

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you a little starter for rabbit resistant plants. We're going

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to take a little break. When we come back, we're

373
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opening up the mailbag, so please statooed at proven Winner's

374
00:22:12,319 --> 00:22:15,599
Color Choice Shrubs. We know that a better landscape starts

375
00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:18,440
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376
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377
00:22:21,440 --> 00:22:24,680
to ten years to ensure they outperform what's already on

378
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the market. For easycare, reliable, beautiful shrubs to accentuate your

379
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home and express your personal style, look for Proven Winner's

380
00:22:32,079 --> 00:22:34,920
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381
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center or learn more at proven Winner's Color Choice dot com.

382
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Creating's gardening friends, and welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show,

383
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where we're talking all about rabbits. Partly because Easter is

384
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upon us and partly because the rabbits are upon us.

385
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And you know, like I was saying in Plants on Trial,

386
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I really love how much I learn by observing the

387
00:22:58,839 --> 00:23:01,559
rabbits in my yard, and that the information that you

388
00:23:01,680 --> 00:23:05,480
kind of take from those observations can help you come

389
00:23:05,559 --> 00:23:08,400
up with other strategies to deter rabbits or you know,

390
00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:12,440
find other methods to deal with them. And one of

391
00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:16,759
them is where they nest. And I have found bunny

392
00:23:16,799 --> 00:23:19,599
nests in my yard over the years in all sorts

393
00:23:19,640 --> 00:23:21,759
of crazy places. Sometimes you know, where you'd think like

394
00:23:21,839 --> 00:23:24,599
kind of tugged up underneath a shroud where they have

395
00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:27,400
a lot of coverage, sometimes just right out in the open.

396
00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:31,079
But one year I had container bunnies.

397
00:23:31,799 --> 00:23:32,759
Speaker 1: Container bunny.

398
00:23:32,839 --> 00:23:36,480
Speaker 2: Yes, I've actually had two years of container bunnies. And

399
00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:38,519
I know this may come as a shock to people,

400
00:23:38,599 --> 00:23:42,240
but rabbits apparently love to nest in containers.

401
00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:42,680
Speaker 1: Wow.

402
00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:45,200
Speaker 2: And I'm not talking like you're empty containers. I'm talking

403
00:23:45,599 --> 00:23:47,880
containers that are full of fresh potting soil that you

404
00:23:47,960 --> 00:23:52,480
have planted up and if they can access them.

405
00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:55,240
Speaker 1: If they're elevated off the ground, maybe it's more.

406
00:23:55,640 --> 00:23:57,880
Speaker 2: Yeah. So one year I had it was in a

407
00:23:57,960 --> 00:24:01,279
very large, like twenty inch container, but I had that

408
00:24:01,319 --> 00:24:04,839
container kind of grouped with smaller containers over it, and

409
00:24:04,920 --> 00:24:06,799
I noticed that there was a rabbit nest in it,

410
00:24:06,839 --> 00:24:09,319
and I was like, what is going on here? And

411
00:24:09,359 --> 00:24:12,200
then one evening, sure enough, we watched the mama rabbit

412
00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:14,599
come up and she went hop to the first container,

413
00:24:14,640 --> 00:24:17,039
hop to the second container, and then hop right into

414
00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:20,480
the top. It was pretty cute. But I have a

415
00:24:20,519 --> 00:24:23,440
picture here, and if you're watching YouTube, you're definitely gonna

416
00:24:23,440 --> 00:24:26,920
want to check this out on YouTube. I have a

417
00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:32,720
beautiful kind of old fashioned concrete you know, box type

418
00:24:32,759 --> 00:24:34,359
of container, you know, the kind that you'd use for

419
00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:38,240
like alpine stuff, and I've historically grown time in it

420
00:24:38,680 --> 00:24:42,160
and it's done great. And one year it was it

421
00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:43,640
was quite late in the season, I think it was

422
00:24:43,680 --> 00:24:46,599
early July. I happened to notice some hair in it

423
00:24:46,640 --> 00:24:48,200
and I was like, oh, what is that? And I

424
00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:51,680
looked closer and there was a bunny nest in this

425
00:24:51,799 --> 00:24:55,640
container and we really got to watch it as it

426
00:24:55,680 --> 00:24:57,160
went from Of course, I didn't tear it apart. I

427
00:24:57,240 --> 00:24:59,519
knew what it was when I saw it, but we

428
00:24:59,559 --> 00:25:02,200
got to watch it as the rabbits got bigger and

429
00:25:02,200 --> 00:25:05,440
bigger until they could no longer fit into the nest

430
00:25:05,759 --> 00:25:09,279
and the hair plug, so the mother rabbit pulls out

431
00:25:09,400 --> 00:25:13,160
the fur on her hind quarters to line and fill

432
00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:15,119
the hole. So that's where all of that comes from.

433
00:25:15,119 --> 00:25:17,799
So if you see a rabbit looking really mangy, chances

434
00:25:17,839 --> 00:25:20,119
are that's a mama rabbit whose hair is growing back

435
00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:23,200
after she plucked it all out to make this cozy

436
00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:26,720
little burrow for her babies. And it's also again a

437
00:25:26,759 --> 00:25:30,519
telltale sign of a nest. And so we watch these

438
00:25:30,519 --> 00:25:32,759
little baby bunnies get bigger and bigger until they could

439
00:25:32,839 --> 00:25:34,440
not even fit in the hole anymore.

440
00:25:34,880 --> 00:25:35,279
Speaker 1: Wow.

441
00:25:35,359 --> 00:25:38,799
Speaker 2: And then they won by one. They left the nest.

442
00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:41,519
And when they left the nest, they went over and

443
00:25:41,559 --> 00:25:44,920
they hid. Each one went and hid under our hibiscus

444
00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:47,559
that was right near where the nest was. It stayed

445
00:25:47,599 --> 00:25:51,279
there until dusk. At that point the mother rabbit showed up.

446
00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:54,279
The baby ran out from its hiding spot, nursed one

447
00:25:54,400 --> 00:25:57,880
last time, she cleaned it, and it went off on

448
00:25:57,920 --> 00:25:59,799
its bike. And it was just the most amazing thing

449
00:25:59,799 --> 00:26:00,400
to see.

450
00:26:00,559 --> 00:26:01,279
Speaker 1: Off to college.

451
00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:05,000
Speaker 2: Yeah, off to college, which is another part of the garden.

452
00:26:05,039 --> 00:26:07,079
Speaker 1: Apparently, you know, as long as we're going down this

453
00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:11,880
rabbit hole. Then let me share that if you are

454
00:26:12,400 --> 00:26:17,240
east of let's say, the Mississippi River, you're dealing predominantly

455
00:26:17,319 --> 00:26:21,079
with a cotton tail eastern type rabbit. If you're in

456
00:26:21,119 --> 00:26:24,519
the Plain States or the West or the Southwest, you

457
00:26:24,559 --> 00:26:28,079
could be dealing with jack rabbits. And now you're taking

458
00:26:28,119 --> 00:26:31,599
it to the next level. Those long eared rabbits that

459
00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:35,680
can run forty five miles per hour, chew on cables,

460
00:26:36,519 --> 00:26:39,920
propane gas hoses. You know, they've had lots of problems

461
00:26:39,960 --> 00:26:45,680
at airports, long term parking where they've done damage because again,

462
00:26:45,799 --> 00:26:47,799
rabbits have to keep their teeth shirt right.

463
00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:48,160
Speaker 2: Yeah.

464
00:26:48,559 --> 00:26:51,720
Speaker 1: But along the lines of nesting, jack rabbits are true

465
00:26:51,920 --> 00:26:56,720
hairs and they will nest above ground in brush. But

466
00:26:56,839 --> 00:26:59,839
many of these bunnies that you're talking about really want

467
00:27:00,319 --> 00:27:03,880
and in many cases are in a burrow, yeah, and

468
00:27:04,079 --> 00:27:08,359
will nest that way. So again, habits of rabbits.

469
00:27:08,480 --> 00:27:12,279
Speaker 2: Yeah, Anyway, there's always something to be learned. But I

470
00:27:12,319 --> 00:27:14,519
know that's not what you're here for. You're here for

471
00:27:14,599 --> 00:27:17,039
answers to your gardening questions. And I will tell you

472
00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:20,920
I have been getting a barrage of comments about what

473
00:27:21,039 --> 00:27:23,880
to do about overgrown shrubs. Now We did a rejuvenation

474
00:27:24,039 --> 00:27:26,480
show where we talked about this very topic, but that

475
00:27:26,640 --> 00:27:30,200
wasn't really the best time to do this. So if

476
00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:32,400
you are if you have one of these shrubs that

477
00:27:32,599 --> 00:27:38,079
is just looking really overgrown, the wood is very thick

478
00:27:38,119 --> 00:27:40,440
and it's not flowering as much, or it's just not

479
00:27:40,519 --> 00:27:42,799
looking as lush and full as you want it to,

480
00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:46,960
or you know it's kind of through winter damage, you've

481
00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:50,559
lost part of the plant. Yes, you can absolutely rejuvenation

482
00:27:50,759 --> 00:27:53,400
prune those. It's a great time to do that. And

483
00:27:53,799 --> 00:27:57,920
any multi stem shrub. So any shrub that comes out

484
00:27:57,960 --> 00:28:02,440
normally with multiple stems from the ground is a candidate

485
00:28:02,440 --> 00:28:05,839
for rejuvenation pruning. And I just want to say spring

486
00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:07,359
is a great time to do that. If it is

487
00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:10,359
a spring flowering shrub like for ccythia or lilac, and

488
00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:14,240
you do rejuvenation pruning right now, you will lose the flowers,

489
00:28:14,319 --> 00:28:15,960
but that's not the end of the world, because you're

490
00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:19,160
rejuvenating the thing anyway. But from a plant health standpoint,

491
00:28:19,200 --> 00:28:23,039
it's the best time. And from a gardener sanity standpoint,

492
00:28:23,079 --> 00:28:27,319
it is also the best time because I have learned.

493
00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:28,920
It took me a while to learn this, even though

494
00:28:28,960 --> 00:28:32,640
it seems dead obvious. Now, if you take off a

495
00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:35,319
lot of plant parts before they have foliage, they are

496
00:28:35,359 --> 00:28:37,799
a lot easier to deal with than when they are

497
00:28:37,839 --> 00:28:41,319
fully leafed out. So great time to do that rejuvenation

498
00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:44,200
pruning right now. Even if you're in a warmer climate

499
00:28:44,240 --> 00:28:46,240
where things have already leafed out, you're gonna have the

500
00:28:46,279 --> 00:28:49,279
whole season ahead of you for them to recover from

501
00:28:49,279 --> 00:28:50,160
this rejuvenation.

502
00:28:50,359 --> 00:28:53,680
Speaker 1: So yeah, I agree here or here I wish more

503
00:28:53,720 --> 00:28:54,319
people did it.

504
00:28:54,480 --> 00:28:56,839
Speaker 2: Yeah, if you've got a candidate, now is the time,

505
00:28:57,160 --> 00:29:02,559
so sharpen up those loppers, replace the blade, and get chopping.

506
00:29:02,920 --> 00:29:06,839
Speaker 1: As you mentioned, Stacy, if you have a forsythia, maybe

507
00:29:06,839 --> 00:29:09,240
you want to let it bloom and then chop it,

508
00:29:09,559 --> 00:29:13,920
But you're so right, why not just abandon the flowers

509
00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:17,000
for one year and get that plant rejuvening.

510
00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:18,000
Speaker 2: Well all so you don't even need to fully abandon

511
00:29:18,039 --> 00:29:20,599
the flowers because you can cut it all back and

512
00:29:20,640 --> 00:29:24,039
then bring those stems inside, force them into bloom, enjoy

513
00:29:24,079 --> 00:29:27,400
some flowers, and then you know, again, give that plants

514
00:29:27,400 --> 00:29:30,720
sometlc in the coming weeks. But great time to do it.

515
00:29:30,799 --> 00:29:33,079
So we have any of their questions in the mouthbag.

516
00:29:32,839 --> 00:29:36,200
Speaker 1: Sure, Judy's writing to us, we have an infestation of

517
00:29:36,319 --> 00:29:39,960
nightcrawlers in our yard. I hope you like fishing. A

518
00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:42,440
couple of years ago I spent early spring nights out

519
00:29:42,480 --> 00:29:45,279
in the yard with a flashlight, needle nosed pliers and

520
00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:48,279
a bucket trying to deal with the problem and the

521
00:29:48,519 --> 00:29:51,920
boy if they multiplied. Speaking with a nursery landscape company,

522
00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:54,279
they said, this is a problem in other areas of

523
00:29:54,279 --> 00:29:57,839
our city. Would you or your listeners have any solutions

524
00:29:57,880 --> 00:30:02,519
to this problem? Thanks for your help from Manitoba, Canada.

525
00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:05,240
Speaker 2: Right, so we have talked about this on the show before.

526
00:30:05,279 --> 00:30:07,319
I know it comes as a surprise to a lot

527
00:30:07,400 --> 00:30:09,400
of us who were raised thinking that the number of

528
00:30:09,400 --> 00:30:12,119
earthworms in your soil is an indicator of soil health

529
00:30:12,599 --> 00:30:16,240
and there's nothing better for your soil than earthworms. But

530
00:30:16,279 --> 00:30:18,720
we don't have any native earthworms in North America. They

531
00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:21,960
all went extinct with the glaciers many thousands of years ago.

532
00:30:23,440 --> 00:30:26,839
And if they proliferate too much. If any earthworms do proliferate,

533
00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:31,400
they are decomposing the organic matter too quickly, disrupts the ecosystem,

534
00:30:32,599 --> 00:30:34,200
and so there's a lot of issues. Sometimes you can

535
00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:37,440
even cause issues for the roots of your plants. So

536
00:30:39,200 --> 00:30:41,960
the simplest advice that I have for you, Judy, is

537
00:30:42,599 --> 00:30:46,720
something that they're using to diagnose jumping worms, which is

538
00:30:46,759 --> 00:30:49,599
a very bad worm. Not I don't think it's all

539
00:30:49,640 --> 00:30:51,720
the way up north in Canada just yet, but it's

540
00:30:51,720 --> 00:30:54,240
all over the place. So here's what they do to

541
00:30:54,359 --> 00:30:56,279
find out if you have jumping worms and help to

542
00:30:56,319 --> 00:30:59,319
control them. You mix a third of a cup of

543
00:30:59,400 --> 00:31:03,240
ground must Now, I want to say, especially since it's easter,

544
00:31:04,240 --> 00:31:09,079
Coleman's mustard is the classic. It is extremely expensive. Do

545
00:31:09,279 --> 00:31:13,440
not waste your money on Coleman's mustard for this job.

546
00:31:14,559 --> 00:31:17,200
No nose, you have powdered mustard. You're not using like

547
00:31:17,240 --> 00:31:20,400
a the You're not using like prepared mustard. Here's what

548
00:31:20,440 --> 00:31:22,759
you need to do. You need to go to an

549
00:31:22,759 --> 00:31:26,400
Indian grocery store and get a bag of mustard seed

550
00:31:26,920 --> 00:31:29,839
and grind that yourself. You will save so much money.

551
00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:31,960
You don't want to use your Colemus mustard for this.

552
00:31:31,960 --> 00:31:35,000
Trust me, that little thing is like nine bucks. So uh,

553
00:31:35,039 --> 00:31:38,079
there's your solution to affording this. So a third cup

554
00:31:38,119 --> 00:31:40,680
of ground mustard. You put that in a one gallon

555
00:31:40,720 --> 00:31:42,880
of water. You can just use like a gallon milk jug.

556
00:31:43,160 --> 00:31:44,960
Although sorry, I know you're in Canada, so you probably

557
00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:47,400
don't have a gallon milk jug, but at any gallon jar.

558
00:31:48,119 --> 00:31:51,920
Mix that together, pull back the leaf litter, and then

559
00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:54,160
pour that mixture all over the soil. Now you will

560
00:31:54,200 --> 00:31:57,559
want to be standing by with a bucket and probably

561
00:31:57,599 --> 00:32:01,079
some gloves because the mustard mixture irritates their skin and

562
00:32:01,119 --> 00:32:03,400
they all come up to the surface. So you're gonna

563
00:32:03,440 --> 00:32:06,720
have tons of worms coming up to the surface very

564
00:32:06,799 --> 00:32:08,799
very quickly, and you're gonna want to scoop them up

565
00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:11,039
and put them in your bucket and then you can

566
00:32:11,079 --> 00:32:12,720
start a little fishing worm business.

567
00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:17,640
Speaker 1: Interesting, I'm wondering. Do they have robins in Manitoba.

568
00:32:18,039 --> 00:32:19,640
Speaker 2: Yes, so that's my other solution.

569
00:32:20,319 --> 00:32:22,920
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean if you had fruiting shrubs in the

570
00:32:23,039 --> 00:32:26,839
yard to help attract because robins love fresh fruit, right.

571
00:32:27,119 --> 00:32:27,440
Speaker 2: Yeah.

572
00:32:27,480 --> 00:32:30,839
Speaker 1: And then the other thing, if let's see it's Judy Judy,

573
00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:35,000
I'd go to a computer and look up rent to

574
00:32:35,119 --> 00:32:38,400
chicken dot com. I mean, can you rent a chicken.

575
00:32:38,079 --> 00:32:40,440
Speaker 2: From maybe if you have just ask Yeah. I think

576
00:32:40,480 --> 00:32:43,200
if you can do any number of things to encourage

577
00:32:43,559 --> 00:32:47,519
wild or domestic birds in your yard and really pulling

578
00:32:47,559 --> 00:32:50,680
back that leaf litter is key because yes, robins and

579
00:32:50,799 --> 00:32:52,920
cat birds and so forth will thrash through that and

580
00:32:52,960 --> 00:32:55,920
try to find the bugs. But you know, it's that

581
00:32:56,039 --> 00:32:58,160
leaf litter that they live under. It keeps it cool,

582
00:32:58,200 --> 00:33:01,279
that's what they're eating and decomposing. So if also if

583
00:33:01,279 --> 00:33:04,119
you can kind of help to minimize leaf litter, keep

584
00:33:04,119 --> 00:33:07,079
it open for the birds, do other things to encourage birds,

585
00:33:07,119 --> 00:33:10,519
like have a bird bath would be really helpful. Having

586
00:33:10,559 --> 00:33:12,920
a source of water for birds will certainly attract them.

587
00:33:13,279 --> 00:33:17,839
Then you can also get some control through our avian friends.

588
00:33:18,039 --> 00:33:20,480
So I hope that's at least a little helpful. At

589
00:33:20,559 --> 00:33:22,599
least the mustard solution will help you get a gauge

590
00:33:22,599 --> 00:33:25,400
of just how severe your issue is, even if it's

591
00:33:25,440 --> 00:33:28,559
not necessarily feasible across your entire yard. So thanks so

592
00:33:28,599 --> 00:33:30,160
much for your question, Judy. We're going to take a

593
00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:32,319
little break. When I come back, we are continuing our

594
00:33:32,319 --> 00:33:35,480
conversation on the habits of rabbits, so please stay tuned.

595
00:33:42,119 --> 00:33:44,880
Thanks for listening to the Gardening Simplified podcast, brought to

596
00:33:44,960 --> 00:33:47,960
you by Proven Winners, Color Choice Shrubs, our award winning

597
00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:51,039
flowering shrubs and evergreens are trialed and tested by experts

598
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with your success in mind. Learn more at Proven winnerscolor

599
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Choice dot com.

600
00:33:57,119 --> 00:34:00,279
Speaker 1: Welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show as we talk

601
00:34:00,319 --> 00:34:04,680
about habits of rabbits today. And by the way, while

602
00:34:04,720 --> 00:34:08,159
you were talking there in segment three, I did go

603
00:34:08,280 --> 00:34:12,159
to rent a chicken dot com and the domain site

604
00:34:12,280 --> 00:34:14,639
is available, so if you want to buy it, I'll

605
00:34:14,639 --> 00:34:15,239
go in with you.

606
00:34:15,320 --> 00:34:17,760
Speaker 2: All right, Well, I think, yeah, this is your business idea.

607
00:34:17,880 --> 00:34:20,960
You connect people with chickens you need fed, with people

608
00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:24,559
who have chicken food, and you know chickens absolutely love

609
00:34:24,639 --> 00:34:26,519
Japanese beetles. So I think you're going to have a

610
00:34:26,519 --> 00:34:30,320
big business spike in July. Yeah, you could be onto

611
00:34:30,320 --> 00:34:32,320
something or maybe our listeners are.

612
00:34:32,519 --> 00:34:37,039
Speaker 1: Domain names available. What came up was McDonald's senior menu.

613
00:34:37,320 --> 00:34:38,639
Speaker 2: Not really sure how that relates.

614
00:34:38,800 --> 00:34:41,599
Speaker 1: I don't know why that came up other than I

615
00:34:41,800 --> 00:34:45,960
liked the senior coffee at McDonald's. But that's just how

616
00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:50,159
it goes. Okay, back to rabbits. Here's one thing you

617
00:34:50,199 --> 00:34:54,079
can do alter the habitat. In other words, eliminate all

618
00:34:54,119 --> 00:34:59,719
brush brush piles, stone piles, weed patches, long grass, wood

619
00:34:59,760 --> 00:35:05,000
pile all of that sort of thing. Again, as you mentioned, Stacy,

620
00:35:05,079 --> 00:35:08,280
they're not only looking for vegetation to eat, but they're

621
00:35:08,320 --> 00:35:12,239
looking for cover, right, Yeah, so that's one thing. Scare

622
00:35:12,280 --> 00:35:16,159
devices a dog can be a good deterrent, but of course,

623
00:35:16,280 --> 00:35:18,880
if you have a dog, you need to care for

624
00:35:18,920 --> 00:35:23,599
the dog its own care and containment issues. But that

625
00:35:23,679 --> 00:35:27,079
may work for you. And then of course people will

626
00:35:27,559 --> 00:35:32,119
try the sprinklers. They'll set out these inflatable owls and

627
00:35:32,239 --> 00:35:37,239
snakes and that type of thing, and they don't work

628
00:35:37,280 --> 00:35:37,639
so much.

629
00:35:37,880 --> 00:35:40,840
Speaker 2: No, And I think you know, if you live in

630
00:35:40,880 --> 00:35:45,280
a neighborhood, so you have neighbors nearly reasonably close by,

631
00:35:45,159 --> 00:35:48,079
they're just not as scared of stuff as maybe out

632
00:35:48,119 --> 00:35:49,800
in the country where things might be a little bit

633
00:35:49,840 --> 00:35:53,559
more unfamiliar. So yeah, I think there's just a lot

634
00:35:53,599 --> 00:35:56,800
of presumption out there about what actually deters rabbits. But

635
00:35:57,159 --> 00:35:59,599
I think the habit modification thing is really interesting because

636
00:35:59,679 --> 00:36:02,880
especially when we see the babies take up residence in

637
00:36:02,960 --> 00:36:06,440
our yard, they always come from the same direction. They

638
00:36:06,440 --> 00:36:09,320
become very habitual, So that can help you if you

639
00:36:09,360 --> 00:36:13,000
really do want to eradicate the rabbits, identify what are

640
00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:16,719
those areas that are giving these rabbits, you know, safe

641
00:36:16,760 --> 00:36:18,880
coverage where they feel like they can always approach from

642
00:36:18,880 --> 00:36:21,159
this direction or you know, hey, I always see it

643
00:36:21,239 --> 00:36:24,519
dart out from under this plant or that plant. You know,

644
00:36:24,679 --> 00:36:27,800
can you you know, maybe stake that plant up and

645
00:36:27,840 --> 00:36:31,239
create some space around it. You know, this is all

646
00:36:31,320 --> 00:36:33,159
just IPM kind of stuff, right, So I learn the

647
00:36:33,159 --> 00:36:35,639
habits of rabbits, so we can then apply that knowledge

648
00:36:35,960 --> 00:36:38,960
to come up with least toxic, least harmful solutions to

649
00:36:39,039 --> 00:36:40,199
managing them in our yards.

650
00:36:40,599 --> 00:36:43,559
Speaker 1: Now, of course, you can repel the rabbits, and there

651
00:36:43,599 --> 00:36:46,960
are many, many different types of repellents on the market.

652
00:36:47,519 --> 00:36:53,280
Many of them involve pepper and other essential oils like

653
00:36:53,480 --> 00:36:59,800
cinnamon oil, mint oils, that sort of thing. Somewhat effective

654
00:37:00,360 --> 00:37:03,400
at least when there's heavy pressure and early spring and

655
00:37:03,440 --> 00:37:08,800
the vegetation is succulent. Then maybe using these sprays for

656
00:37:08,880 --> 00:37:11,480
a period of time, but it's a pain for you,

657
00:37:11,599 --> 00:37:17,239
it's a pain for your pocket book, and it's somewhat effective,

658
00:37:17,320 --> 00:37:23,800
so from time to time repellance may become necessary. You know.

659
00:37:23,880 --> 00:37:26,599
Speaker 2: The other thing to think about too with the feeding.

660
00:37:26,679 --> 00:37:29,119
So when a deer feeds on your plant, right, the

661
00:37:29,199 --> 00:37:32,880
damage is pretty high because deer obviously taller, and so

662
00:37:32,960 --> 00:37:35,360
then you get these kind of witches broom resulting from

663
00:37:35,400 --> 00:37:38,119
that feeding up at the top, and that can kind

664
00:37:38,119 --> 00:37:39,719
of make the plant look all funky, Whereas with the

665
00:37:39,800 --> 00:37:42,840
rabbit damage, since it's happening low down on the plant,

666
00:37:43,559 --> 00:37:46,360
all to really doing is giving you some branching, so

667
00:37:46,440 --> 00:37:48,639
you know, really, there's a lot of ways. I think

668
00:37:48,679 --> 00:37:52,559
that plants can generally recover in a much more aesthetic

669
00:37:52,639 --> 00:37:57,159
fashion from most rabbit damage compared to deer damage, although

670
00:37:57,199 --> 00:38:00,000
I have had to. I have tried to grow ornamental clothes,

671
00:38:00,719 --> 00:38:02,119
and the way they ate that thing, there was no

672
00:38:02,159 --> 00:38:06,719
coming back of that. So, especially for shrubs and larger perennials,

673
00:38:07,119 --> 00:38:09,400
a little bit of browsing, you know, if you don't

674
00:38:09,400 --> 00:38:11,159
want to spray, or you missed it. Because plants are

675
00:38:11,159 --> 00:38:14,760
growing so quickly, generally, I feel like not the end

676
00:38:14,760 --> 00:38:16,679
of the world, especially compared with deer damage.

677
00:38:16,760 --> 00:38:20,119
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, and you said it clover is like ice

678
00:38:20,159 --> 00:38:26,000
cream to rabbits. And did I say earlier? Planting beans

679
00:38:26,079 --> 00:38:28,880
can be a real proud I love planting bean. I

680
00:38:28,920 --> 00:38:32,360
love growing beans. There's so much fun to grow. But wow,

681
00:38:32,440 --> 00:38:36,400
it's just amazing how they're attracted to being well.

682
00:38:36,400 --> 00:38:39,239
Speaker 2: You know, we have a vegetable garden, of course, and

683
00:38:39,320 --> 00:38:42,840
when we put the stuff the metal wire fencing around

684
00:38:42,840 --> 00:38:44,639
it last year, we were like, hey, no rabbit can

685
00:38:44,639 --> 00:38:47,760
fit through there. This is fine, but we didn't think

686
00:38:47,760 --> 00:38:51,920
about the baby rabbits, and the baby rabbits could just

687
00:38:52,119 --> 00:38:54,400
top right on in there like there was no tomorrow.

688
00:38:54,480 --> 00:38:57,159
So one of the first things on our spring to

689
00:38:57,199 --> 00:38:59,119
do list here as the weather gets a little warmer

690
00:38:59,239 --> 00:39:01,000
is to put up to and wire, which we will,

691
00:39:01,039 --> 00:39:03,400
as you just described, kind of bend down so they

692
00:39:03,440 --> 00:39:05,480
can't dig below it, and hopefully that will keep them

693
00:39:05,480 --> 00:39:07,920
away from the beans, because I am ready to get

694
00:39:07,920 --> 00:39:09,039
plant in the veg garden.

695
00:39:09,320 --> 00:39:12,039
Speaker 1: And I hate dealing with chicken wire. It is one

696
00:39:12,079 --> 00:39:15,280
of the most frustrating materials to work.

697
00:39:15,480 --> 00:39:18,880
Speaker 2: I told my husband this. He seems to think he's

698
00:39:18,920 --> 00:39:20,400
going to be able to do it, so I'll report

699
00:39:20,440 --> 00:39:22,400
back on Wow, you can't know what this is.

700
00:39:22,440 --> 00:39:24,920
Speaker 1: It's just something I don't look forward to it. It's

701
00:39:24,960 --> 00:39:26,559
just so's so fun.

702
00:39:26,599 --> 00:39:28,119
Speaker 2: He sees it in the roles, He's like, Eh, it

703
00:39:28,159 --> 00:39:31,599
doesn't look so bad. I said, I have it on

704
00:39:31,639 --> 00:39:33,840
good authority. This is not the most fun stuff to

705
00:39:33,880 --> 00:39:36,639
deal with but we shall see which.

706
00:39:36,440 --> 00:39:39,880
Speaker 1: Brings up the next point, exclude the rabbits. So exclusion

707
00:39:39,960 --> 00:39:46,280
of rabbits is probably the most consistently effective method, but

708
00:39:46,400 --> 00:39:49,639
it's costly for you. Not everybody wants to build a

709
00:39:49,719 --> 00:39:54,280
compound like I've built and then go around all all

710
00:39:54,280 --> 00:39:57,800
around the compound with that rotten chicken wire and attach it.

711
00:39:58,159 --> 00:40:01,360
But I've done it, and then of course look for

712
00:40:01,400 --> 00:40:06,519
the smoozes because they do somehow miraculously appear. But it

713
00:40:06,559 --> 00:40:09,000
does bring up a point if you don't want all

714
00:40:09,039 --> 00:40:11,960
the work or the cost of a compound and a fence,

715
00:40:11,960 --> 00:40:16,639
because I get it, fencing is expensive. What you can

716
00:40:16,760 --> 00:40:23,119
do is selectively exclude rabbits from certain plants that you

717
00:40:23,400 --> 00:40:27,320
find they are highly attracted to, or maybe it's a

718
00:40:27,440 --> 00:40:31,119
highly prized plant. I mentioned earlier about how important it

719
00:40:31,199 --> 00:40:34,199
is in the fall with young trees or that sort

720
00:40:34,239 --> 00:40:36,559
of thing, to protect them as you go into winter

721
00:40:36,960 --> 00:40:40,360
if you get a fair amount of snow in the winter,

722
00:40:40,519 --> 00:40:47,519
So Stacy, some selective excluding or selective barriers might work

723
00:40:47,559 --> 00:40:47,840
for you.

724
00:40:48,280 --> 00:40:50,800
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I think it's better if there are

725
00:40:50,840 --> 00:40:53,000
just certain things that you can protect. Obviously, it makes

726
00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:56,920
it a lot easier than trying to protect a large area.

727
00:40:57,039 --> 00:40:59,599
And again, sometimes you only need to protect things while

728
00:40:59,599 --> 00:41:02,760
they're young and the growth is very fine and succulent,

729
00:41:02,800 --> 00:41:06,480
and as they get older they don't need protection anymore.

730
00:41:06,639 --> 00:41:08,679
Not so much in the vegetable garden they usually do.

731
00:41:08,800 --> 00:41:11,800
But perennials and shrubs you can be in good shape.

732
00:41:12,320 --> 00:41:15,199
Speaker 1: Now, I have to admit I've tried live trapping before.

733
00:41:15,440 --> 00:41:20,559
Live trapping with a have a heart trap didn't go well. No, no,

734
00:41:20,800 --> 00:41:24,400
I caught everything but a rabbit. And you know, so

735
00:41:24,519 --> 00:41:29,039
you try what you can with apple slices or corn

736
00:41:29,119 --> 00:41:33,960
on the cob, dried apples. I've even put rabbit droppings

737
00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:37,159
in there and it didn't work for me, but I

738
00:41:37,280 --> 00:41:40,840
wanted to, you know, live travel. Of course, they're very territorial.

739
00:41:40,920 --> 00:41:44,719
And one interesting thing about rabbits in the landscape in

740
00:41:44,760 --> 00:41:47,639
the garden is once they've established in an area. That's

741
00:41:47,679 --> 00:41:49,079
why I say you got to get rid of the

742
00:41:49,079 --> 00:41:53,400
brush piles, is that they don't travel very far. They

743
00:41:53,400 --> 00:41:57,920
have a tendency to be territorial. So you know, I

744
00:41:57,960 --> 00:41:59,880
was going to do a good deed and live tra

745
00:42:00,519 --> 00:42:04,639
but it didn't go so hot. Maybe you're you'll be

746
00:42:04,760 --> 00:42:05,760
more successful.

747
00:42:06,400 --> 00:42:08,480
Speaker 2: To me, you know, I wonder if it's partly because

748
00:42:08,519 --> 00:42:13,679
they they like to feed on a diversity of food sources, right,

749
00:42:13,719 --> 00:42:15,639
so they're not just like, Okay, you know, I'm here

750
00:42:15,679 --> 00:42:17,559
to just eat this one thing over and over. They

751
00:42:17,840 --> 00:42:20,800
they really diversify their own diets and browse a lot

752
00:42:20,840 --> 00:42:23,280
of different things. So if you're just baiting the thing,

753
00:42:23,280 --> 00:42:25,559
they're just like, no, I'm not in the mood for

754
00:42:26,079 --> 00:42:27,920
you know, apples today.

755
00:42:28,400 --> 00:42:31,480
Speaker 1: I think, I don't know you've owned a pet rabbit.

756
00:42:31,679 --> 00:42:35,000
I think they're smarter than we give them credit for. Um.

757
00:42:35,840 --> 00:42:39,280
Speaker 2: I think that they are just so I mean, I'm

758
00:42:39,280 --> 00:42:40,800
not saying they're not smart. They can be trained a

759
00:42:40,840 --> 00:42:46,519
little bit to do stuff. He might be the exception

760
00:42:46,639 --> 00:42:49,280
and not the rule. I think that they are just

761
00:42:49,599 --> 00:42:53,639
so naturally cautious because of that high predation rate, that

762
00:42:53,679 --> 00:42:56,559
they are more caution driven than food driven. So like

763
00:42:56,559 --> 00:42:58,159
a raccoon's going to be like, oh, you got an

764
00:42:58,159 --> 00:43:00,840
apple in there, I'm I'm there, whereas the rabbit's going

765
00:43:00,920 --> 00:43:02,840
to be like, I don't know about this. This looks

766
00:43:02,840 --> 00:43:05,880
a little little fishy.

767
00:43:06,079 --> 00:43:09,960
Speaker 1: As you mentioned, Stacy. Then I start to look towards

768
00:43:10,360 --> 00:43:14,880
rabbit proof plants, and there are no guarantees, and I

769
00:43:14,880 --> 00:43:18,840
think you have to know that going in. However, I

770
00:43:19,000 --> 00:43:23,239
have found any of the broad leaf evergreens, so Azalea's

771
00:43:24,159 --> 00:43:29,719
box would holly that sort of thing. Rhododendrons good success,

772
00:43:30,719 --> 00:43:34,400
really no problem with rabbits. I had potentilla on my

773
00:43:34,519 --> 00:43:38,360
list and butterfly bush. I agree with you there, things

774
00:43:38,440 --> 00:43:43,559
like white pine, blue spruce use any of the text

775
00:43:44,719 --> 00:43:48,159
are Yeah, whereas we've talked before about how we're amazed

776
00:43:48,199 --> 00:43:52,199
that deer will eat taxes. Oh yeah, but the rabbits

777
00:43:52,440 --> 00:43:57,440
have a tendency to leave it alone. Adjuratum, yucca, asters

778
00:43:58,119 --> 00:44:02,800
be balm, and I'm thinking that in my experience, generally

779
00:44:03,159 --> 00:44:07,039
something that has some essential oils in it or or

780
00:44:07,079 --> 00:44:10,119
a smell, whether it's bee balm or any of your

781
00:44:10,159 --> 00:44:14,800
herbs like oregano and oregano. By the way, I just

782
00:44:14,880 --> 00:44:18,400
planted boy. I think that the name of the variety

783
00:44:18,480 --> 00:44:21,440
is drops of Jupiter.

784
00:44:21,559 --> 00:44:23,400
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, that's an ornamental oregano.

785
00:44:23,559 --> 00:44:28,920
Speaker 1: Yeah, ornamental oregano, proven winners oregano, and so any of those.

786
00:44:29,440 --> 00:44:32,360
Basil yep. Never had a problem with basil.

787
00:44:32,760 --> 00:44:35,760
Speaker 2: I don't think that they've eaten any herbs. Wan to

788
00:44:35,840 --> 00:44:38,360
knock on wood here but I don't think they've eaten

789
00:44:38,400 --> 00:44:39,119
any herbs my garden.

790
00:44:39,119 --> 00:44:39,239
Speaker 1: Now.

791
00:44:39,320 --> 00:44:42,840
Speaker 2: They don't like yeah that that anything that's kind of

792
00:44:42,840 --> 00:44:47,440
resinous or smells strongly, they they will definitely stay away from.

793
00:44:47,480 --> 00:44:52,360
Speaker 1: Yeah, for example, hardy chrysanthemums. Ah, yeah, they won't touch them.

794
00:44:52,440 --> 00:44:53,880
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's just not really good too.

795
00:44:54,159 --> 00:44:59,679
Speaker 1: Fox glove, ferns, goats beard, all of those are possibility.

796
00:45:00,079 --> 00:45:02,159
M have had no problem.

797
00:45:02,000 --> 00:45:04,440
Speaker 2: Because that's got the hairy foliage.

798
00:45:04,719 --> 00:45:10,039
Speaker 1: Had lavender on my list. Paeonies, no problem with Russian sage.

799
00:45:10,199 --> 00:45:13,800
Any of the salvia's perennial or annual have not had

800
00:45:13,800 --> 00:45:21,760
a problem. They're geraniums, Colendula again, no problems. Daffodils and hyacinths,

801
00:45:21,840 --> 00:45:34,599
no problems, whereas tulips big problem with. Yeah, rabbits and deer, onions, potatoes, squash, cucumbers,

802
00:45:35,079 --> 00:45:37,199
all of them. I mean, you know they've walked right

803
00:45:37,239 --> 00:45:40,800
past the cucumbers and then mowed down the beans.

804
00:45:40,920 --> 00:45:43,000
Speaker 2: Cucumbers are kind of hairy too, a little bit prickly

805
00:45:43,119 --> 00:45:43,840
on the foliage.

806
00:45:43,880 --> 00:45:46,159
Speaker 1: So did I mention if you want rabbits in your

807
00:45:46,239 --> 00:45:50,800
landscape plant beans? Hey, Stacy, this has been fun. Hopefully

808
00:45:50,840 --> 00:45:55,440
you've learned something about rabbits and let's get ready for

809
00:45:55,480 --> 00:45:58,840
him because they're out there this spring. Thank you Stacy,

810
00:45:58,960 --> 00:46:02,800
thank you Rick, Thanks Adriana. Thanks to you for watching

811
00:46:02,880 --> 00:46:05,960
us on YouTube, downloading the podcast, and listening to the

812
00:46:06,079 --> 00:46:09,360
radio version of our show. Have yourself a great week