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Suzymac
My Favorite Photo
My Garden
| | Posted on Monday, September 27, 2004 - 07:34 pm EST : |   
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These devilish little chipmunks are driving me crazy ! They must really love the taste of Florida Sieboldi ! I had begun to think that my plant was dead this year, but in actuality the Chipmunks had been feasting daily on every tasty new sprout leaving me no evidence of a live plant ! Today, I caught the 'darned little critters' chomping off a fresh 6" stem which had grown while I was away ! I'm going to go to work on a secure cage to keep these critters away !
The funny part....
Today, I received another Florida Sieboldi from Chalk Hill, as a birthday gift from my son, which WAS to have replaced the so-called "dead" F.S., which of course, wasn't dead at all. I guess I'll now have good insurance against any losses. :-)
A question.....
Can anyone suggest a good caging material to use as Chipmunk prevention ? Do you think that chicken wire would work or do I need something with smaller holes?
Suzy
Suzymac Massachusetts zone 6-A |
Kvilledude
My Weather
My Garden
| | Posted on Monday, September 27, 2004 - 08:48 pm EST : |
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Suzy, don't know about chipmunks but the green vinyl fencing Bill told me about keeps the rabbits out. It is sold at Home Depot and has square holes in it about 1 1/4 inches in size. That might be too big of holes to deter chipmunks though. You could always get hardware cloth. I used it to build my compost sifter and it is metal which the chipmunks couldn't chew through and the holes are maybe a 1/4 of an inch in size so they couldn't stick their heads through either.
Congrats on your new Sieboldii and the resurrection of your "departed" one. I got one a couple of weeks ago but am going to overwinter it in a pot since these C. florida varieties are one of the types that it is suggested not to plant in the fall since they are more tender than other types. Do you plan on planting your new one out or wait until spring to do so?
Kvilledude
- North Carolina,
Zone "7A"
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Suzymac
My Favorite Photo
My Garden
| | Posted on Monday, September 27, 2004 - 10:36 pm EST : |
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Miguel, I had planned on planting mine now, since the size is pretty good. Chalk Hill's plants have nice root systems. I'll plant it in a protected location with plenty of mulch to cover and will hope for the best. These FS's are heartier than we think ! They just take a while to get going for the first few years. I much prefer getting good sized plants into the ground now, rather than waiting.I should have nice blooms next spring if the Chipmunk fencing works. I'll have to put a wire fence top on the cage until the plant gets established. Chipmunks love the tenderest of the new growth, I have discovered. They also love clematis flower buds ! Why do Chipmunks have to be so darned cute ?
Suzy
PS: Thanks for the fence tip. I'll go to Lowes tomorrow and see what I can find.
Suzymac Massachusetts zone 6-A |
Frostycurls
My Garden Journal
My Weather
My Garden
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 28, 2004 - 02:22 am EST : |
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Suzy I'd say you need hardware cloth, I don't think the holes in the green vinyl are going to be small enough to keep the little rascals out. Good luck!
Penny Oregon Zone 7 |
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