Tulips destroyed in 2 minutes by squirrels
Wildlife gardening
that is, gardening with wildlife all around, has its annoyances. I watched in dismay as 2 squirrels dug out and ate the tulip shoots and bulbs in this pot within a matter of minutes this morning. I had put chicken wire on top when I planted them but took it off yesterday as the shoots were 6” tall.
So this is one of the realities of wildlife gardening, living with the joys of living creatures in the garden but trying to minimise the damage they can do. The pots with wire still on them are safe for the time being but when do I take it off?
Chicken wire protects the bulbs from November to February but then…..
My tulip pots have looked fabulous in previous years, like this…
My pots of tulips were magnificent a few years ago but now squirrels destroy them just for fun, it seems.
You can see more wonderful tulips in my blog from May 2018 when I had more success.
I’m really not sure if I can create that again – I’m a bit at a loss. It’s disappointing but I’m not convinced I can do much to stop them. Does this mean I won’t have tulips any more?????
On the plus side, they haven’t eaten the daffodils in pots so I’ll be thankful for that. Any suggestions will be gratefully received.
On reflection I’ve decided to put back the wire protection I had on the pots all winter even though the squirrels might still eat the flowers when they come up but it looks like this
A wire cloche from Crocus.
You can buy these cloches in 2 sizes from Crocus.
Oh no! Could you cut the wire to fit just inside the pot and just leave it there.?
Thanks, that is one thing I could try next year and hope they don’t just eat the new shoots as they come up. I’ve even seen them eat the flowers! Very weird. Thanks for your suggestion.