Topic: Missing Plants

[duh]

The dark purple lily that was growing in the driveway bed is totally gone.  I mean totally there is not even a hole for where the bulb/root was.  Looking at the bed you would swear there was never a plant there.  Is that what happens when the voles and moles find a lily?

[bayou girl]

i can't swear to it, but i think so.

[Tina]

I watched a gopher suck a whole largish plant down from underground early one morning. Very cartoon-like but not at all funny. There was little sign that the columbine had ever been there afterwards.

[duh]

Well I'll have to figure out what I want to do about that problem.  I'm thinking caging the bulbs will probably work best for me because I just don't think I could trap or kill the rodents.

[Tina]

Our moles don't eat plants, just the worms and things in the soil. But they can uproot plants to get to those.
Our gophers do a job on roots mostly. And they love lilies and tulips. When I first planted lilies I surrounded the whole bed with tulbaghia fragrans, society garlic as an edging. Because they hate those. It took them a few years to get past the nasty plants and find those lilies but eventually they did. I had awesome lilies until then. .

[duh]

I've hear voles and moles and such like bulbs.  Maybe it's my lack of worms that has got them going after the bulbs.  I've been making progress I do have some worms where I've been able to soften the soil but then that gives the voles and moles more territory too. 

[Tina]

I have never had to deal with voles and I know there are some types of moles that eat plants. Just not the type I've seen here.

[Tina]

Aha, I do have voles. We just call them field mice.
I am sorry, Tammy.
I have little compunction about protecting my territory and have no problem trapping and killing the rodents around here. It would bother me more if I wasn't aware that their aim is to kill me. They will chew on wiring and plumbing and such. Have been known to start fires. I do not want them in, under or around my house.

[UNCLEG]

Moles ate all my Stargazer lillies.

[duh]

I don't want them around my house either.  That's why I'm growing chocolate mint all the way around the foundation.  I've heard they don't like it.  Maybe I'll use another mint as a ground cover where I want to plant my lilies.  I'm sorry to hear about your lilies UNCLEG I know it must really have hurt to lose them.

[patches]

I'm not sure about the voles and moles, but I have a family of groundhogs that are feasting on all my plants.  I've set out five tomato plants three different times and they all disappear.  All they leave me are stubs that are about an 1" high.  They are also eating all my flowers too. The city brought out a live-trap and I've caught one baby and a raccoon so far, but there's still the mama and daddy and another baby that is much bigger now.  Gardening has not been much fun this year!!!      

[Penny]

I'm not sure about the voles and moles, but I have a family of groundhogs that are feasting on all my plants.  I've set out five tomato plants three different times and they all disappear.  All they leave me are stubs that are about an 1" high.  They are also eating all my flowers too. The city brought out a live-trap and I've caught one baby and a raccoon so far, but there's still the mama and daddy and another baby that is much bigger now.  Gardening has not been much fun this year!!!      

Welcome back!!!!!

[patches]

Hi Penny   

Just chilling out for a few minutes to see how other people were doing with their gardens.  It's been a really hot week here because my air conditioning went out last week on Tuesday night, but it's fixed now.   It's so hard to get someone out at this time of the year since they're overwhelmed with calls.  My flowers are suffering because it was hard to even go out to water for a short time since I had no place to come in to cool off.  I hope you are doing good these days!   

[Penny]

I hear you there.....the temperature has been brutal here too, its been in the 40's with humidity.....and we havent had rain in days!!!

Glad you got your AC fixed though, that wouldnt be fun in this heat!!

[Bonnie]

Wow, I would hate to be without my air, hope you get it fixed soon.

[duh]

I can sympathize, my a/c is out too.  And my garden took a beating also.  Makes me wonder if I even want to try next year.