Expert: C.L. Fornari - 7/8/2008

Question
I just bought 2 King Tut this season and have had them in the ground only 4 days. I went outside this morning only to find that something chewed off all the stems!!!!!! Are they desirable to rabbits? Any suggestions to keeping these plants in the beds around my deck. No other annual was touched by this critter.
I live outside of Buffalo New York.

Answer
Denise,
How frustrating!  The chewed plants should grow back, however, so leave the roots in place and keep watering regularly (a good DEEP soaking every three days in hot weather - deep soaking is better than hand watering every day) and perhaps after the next watering you could give a mild application of fertilizer if you haven't already done so.

Rabbits? Possible I suppose, although it is odd that no other plant was touched. Did you dig in the soil around these plants to be sure there wasn't a cut worm in the area?  You might turn the soil up about three or four inches down around these plants and make sure you don't see any grub-like cut worms.

Next, I'd either buy a deer/rabbit repellant or make your own: mix a beaten egg in to 3/4 of a gallon of water along with some cayenne pepper and a couple of drops of dishsoap or some "Turbo Spreader Sticker" (to hold the mix on the plants) Spray your plants with this, reapplying after a rain. Rabbits and deer are herbivores so they won't eat anything with animal products, such as egg, on it. Other animals don't like the cayenne so you're pretty protected with this mix. There are store bought versions of this such as "Critter Ridder" as well.

I hope this helps!
C.L.