Are you looking for plants to keep rabbits away? Plant these 10!
Rabbits are cute, nice, fluffy, and tiny creatures you would like to hug, but this goes away when you see them munching on your favorite flowers! The good thing is that you can plant some greenery that can repel rabbits from coming to your garden.
Plants like early-blooming hellebores, with their delicate bowing heads, cheerful daffodils, statement drumstick alliums, and showy dahlias, bloom continuously until the first frosts.
After quite a bit of research, we’ve put together a hot list of the best plants that keep rabbits away, which you may use to cultivate around your vegetable beds or just scatter near the edges of your garden.
1. Daffodils And Narcissus
I will start the article with a very common plant that’s very appealing to the eye, narcissus. Nice to watch and easy to grow, it will be a nice addition to your garden especially because it is one of the plants that keep rabbits away.
The major downside of this plant is that it is toxic for both kids and pets because of the poisonous substance called lycorine. So in case you decide to plan it, make sure you keep it as far away as possible or in a spot in which it won’t be reachable by both pets and kids.
I’d advise you to scatter daffodil bulbs around the edges of your garden. If you plant successionally, you may have a long-lasting and diverse display because there are numerous types of plants to choose from.
Narcissi, like other blooming bulbs, detest sitting in damp, soggy circumstances; therefore, if planting on damp soil, be sure to add some grit to each planting hole beforehand.
2. Anise Hyssop
Among the best plants that keep rabbits away from your property is the anise hyssop. Anise hyssop is a tough native plant found in North America that blooms in spikes from July to fall. Its flowers are violet-blue. The plant gets its popular name from the anise-scented leaves and blooms.
Additionally, they are said to yield a nectar that hummingbirds and butterflies find attractive. While you will keep rabbits away, try using this plant to create a lovely butterfly garden.
3. Allium
One of the best ways to keep bunnies away is to plant a couple of alliums in your yard. This plant has a vivid purple color that will make the landscape pop. Like the narcissus, it has a pungent smell to which rabbits are particularly sensitive.
For an eye-catching show, scatter them among ground cover plants, grow them in shallow dish-shaped containers, or around the borders of the garden.
As with the two others mentioned above, this is another plant that’s toxic for pets, so keep your furry friend out of reach. And if you have vegetables growing in your garden, keep them away from this flower, since its strappy leaves are an ideal place for slugs and snails to hide.
4. Catmint
Gray-green hybrid roses with clusters of blue, violet, pink, or white blooms all summer long are the ideal companion plants for catmint. Heat and dryness are no match for this shrub that keeps rabbits away.
This perennial may be pruned back to a third of its original height once the flowering season is over, and it will rebloom in the late summer and early fall.
5. Lavender
…Mmm lavender! With its strong fragrance manages to win everyone’s heart. Not bunnies for sure! The natural oil of the plant has a high concentration of linalool, which is just too powerful for rabbits to bear and overwhelms their delicate sense of smell.
Consequently, they remain well out of the way, allowing us to savor the intense fragrance and exquisite look of these small purple blossoms floating above the silvery-green foliage. Sounds like heaven!
6. Peonies
Everybody likes peonies except bunnies! And that’s a good thing when you try to keep them away from your garden. If you choose to grow peonies, you should plant them in the spring or fall.
These hardy perennials, which defy common belief, are easy to grow and flourish in a sunny area with well-draining soil. Experts claim that peonies require very little care once planted and may flourish in practically any place on the planet when winter temperatures fall below freezing.
7. Lungwort
It may be because I am obsessed with purple, but the seventh recommendation when it comes to plants that keep rabbits away is lungwort. When the plant isn’t in flower, the attractively speckled or variegated leaves provide interest and deter rabbits with their rough look.
8. Hellebores
The good news is that these gorgeous early bloomers provide color and intrigue in early spring, while most other plants are dormant. They are also the best winter plants for borders and containers. They also keep rabbits away from your space. If you want to enjoy their cute flowers, grow hellebores from January to May.
Although this plant can grow in most conditions, from partial shade to full sun, once planted, you might upset it if you want to relocate it.
If you have a small garden, planting so many plants isn’t exactly possible, so a solar ultrasonic animal repellent might be of better use. I found one that cost $32.99 on Amazon, and it is available by clicking on the link. If you don’t like it, you can check out others that are more affordable.
9. Lamb’s Ear
Lamb’s ear is a great ground cover for sunny areas and has soft, fluffy silvery leaves that rabbits usually stay away from. While its leaves are its most notable characteristic, lamb’s ear also has pink flower spikes that bloom all summer long. And they’re so beautiful!
Don’t worry about maintenance, just make sure it has well-drained soil and full sun.
10. Dahlias
Although dahlias are excellent plants for pollinators, rabbits prefer to avoid dahlias due to their high sugar content or the woody texture of their stems.
If you’re looking to fill your garden with some vibrant colors and dazzling flowers, opt for dahlias. The borders of the garden are the perfect spots to plant these flowers to keep the fluffy critters away. They may be tempted to nibble a bit at the beginning when the flower is smaller, but don’t worry, they won’t like it anyway.
Bottom line:
Besides nurturing all these plants that keep rabbits away, you must also look out for better fencing. Sure, it might take a while to install it, but once it’s done, is a lasting barrier. This implies that you won’t need to frantically apply repellents following each downpour.
Rabbits can be kept out of a 2-foot fence since they can’t jump very high. The ideal type of wire fencing is that which has gaps of no more than one inch, like rabbit or chicken wire (both available at The Home Depot).
Since rabbits are very pushy creatures that will try to get into your garden no matter what, it’s recommended to bury the lowest 2 to 3 inches of fencing underground.
Are you new to the page? Welcome! If you enjoyed reading this article, you should know that we have a lot more others! This is another suggestion: 10 Gorgeous Flowers for Your Spring Garden (Easy to Grow).
