Six on Saturday – 12FEB2022 – What Rabbits Eat

Chris Mousseau

Seed starting efforts start in a week or so, and I promise to have something a bit more interesting than blurry black and white shots. But this week, we’re still snow covered so no outdoor activity yet. At least by me. Rabbits have been busy and I must say, I’m surprised by the number of them. There was not too much rabbit evidence at the end of last summer – I thought the local coyotes had done them in. It was not to be, though, since there are more rabbit tracks around the yard than I’ve ever seen before, and a lot more nibbling going on, including a few surprising things. They must be REALLY hungry!

No surprise here – Bridlewreath Spirea (Spiraea prunifolia) is a favourite every winter, snow or no snow. A bit extreme this year though.
Another favourite are my Korean Spice Viburnum (Viburnum carlesii). Like the Spirea, this year’s nibbling goes way beyond the norm. This is (was) a smallish bush just settling in, with lots of flower buds. The shot at the top of this post, if you can see it, is (was) much larger, about 1 x 1 metre, now about half that size.
This was a Fothergilla. Last year I thought a wondering deer had been tasting its tips but this year the snow has been high enough for rabbits. The proof is in the pellets.
Not that it matters since spring pruning will have me cutting these rose canes back anyway, but not even a thorny stem has deterred the foraging!
Another surprise is that rabbits can/will eat pine needles. A few small Austrian pines have been totally stripped bare, and here is my weeping white pine, with the lower branches looking pretty forlorn. A quick internet search produces loads of pages that confirm pine needles are, indeed, a favourite of wild rabbits. As are many other trees and shrubs.
The biggest surprise, for me, is that they’ve attacked the tips of my Yucca filamentosa!

There you have it – six things rabbits eat, at least in a snow covered garden. Thanks to Jon The Propagator to hosting Six on Saturday – a weekly show and tell of gardens all over the world.

21 Comments

    1. We had a fair but melt this past week, but it’s cold again with more snow coming. It’s that time of year when temps see saw all over! Yes, the critters must be ravenous!

  2. Ew! Yucca filamentosa can not taste good. Even if the ‘can’ eat it, one would think that they would prefer something else. Gophers eat too, from below. That makes more sense I suppose.

  5. Rabbits have invaded Toronto east end – started seeing them last spring – maybe they’ll clear out the pine needles in my backyard 🙂

  6. Methinks the rabbits are ready for spring, too; a few fresh greens on the plate would be nice. You’ve also reminded me of one of my favorite quotations. I can’t source it, but it always makes me laugh: “The best thing about working with plants is, if you have a really bad day, you can go home and eat a salad.”

  7. wow! rabbits seem to eat everything I try for oerennials, chinese forget me nots the latest victim. Amazed they ate pine needles. Great winter post,

  8. Argh, rabbits are a nuisance! I have to net and use hardware cloth around my favorite shrubs. Voles and deer are a problem as well. Garden challenges!

    1. I may have grown complacent in recent years, with the lack of snow cover, rabbits were able to stick to their preferred diet of greeinsh leafy things. Oh well…

  9. You are to be commended for getting outside to get photographs, Chris.
    Needs must for those rabbits I guess. Will the plant recover?

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