It all started when I was taking out the compostables Saturday. The ground had finally frozen solid! I dumped the compostables into the bin and took a brief prowl around the yard to check on the rabbits’ depredations. They mostly come out at night, so sometimes I see them sitting under the willow-leaved Amsonia or eating safflower seed that has been flung about by the finches when they careen into the feeder when I am cleaning up after dinner. Yes, rabbits eat safflower seed, on top of everything else.
So far this winter, they have eaten the parsley and nibbled on the garlic. They have mowed the blue-eyed grass and tried the Iris cristata, which they have never bothered before.
Most annoyingly, a rabbit pruned the nearby pawpaw seedling, another first. This seedling appeared in a plausible spot sometime after the last of the stump sprout expired in mid-summer, so I had high hopes for it. Last winter was very dry, and after that, rain was erratic. By May, the main sprout had died, but one of the buds near the base sprouted and survived into mid-summer.
As it happens, the nearby seedling has a bud about halfway up its right side. I am hoping this seedling survives long enough to get too big and too bitter for rabbits. Rabbits don’t seem to mind strong flavors, but pawpaws defend themselves well chemically—the leaves smell very medicinal. At least the rabbits leave very clean edges when they mow through plants. My clippers don’t do that well.
The pruned pawpaw seedling got me thinking. I got quite behind on my gardening chores last fall, as I tried to keep up with everything else. There were a few dozen pawpaw seedlings still lurking under the Annabelle hydrangeas and in the hostas last fall. I doubt the rabbits have eaten them all.
I will have to get after them in mid-May, when they start leafing out. There were dozens late last June, when I had a little time to dig. I’ve given away seedlings in the past, but there was no rain in the forecast when I dug these, so they went into the compost. It’s very simple to distinguish seedlings from root suckers, once you have seen some seedlings. The suckers will not root if replanted.
There will be other seedlings to deal with as well. Last year we had several white oak and red maple seedlings, as well as the usual zillions of silver maples. The parent tree is huge! They are easy enough to dig, as they all have sturdy tap roots.