Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Cultivation => Cultivation Problems => Topic started by: brianw on October 17, 2012, 07:25:26 PM
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Recently I have had 2 plants attacked in the unheated greenhouse.
Last week there was a large(ish) hole in the top of a 6" diameter Dionysia aretioides, with 3 or 4 stems loose but still there. Today a delightful plant of Pyrethrum leontopodium had quite a lot missing and much of the rest flattened. No slime trails or anything else; maybe, just maybe 1or 2 mouse droppings. Oddly I just happened to leave 2 unidentified small bulbs on the gravel on the top of the last pot and they were untouched.
The Pyrethrum is so soft and hairy I am assuming a mouse has taken some as nesting material, so have set some traps. Any other ideas? No sign of birds or squirrels. The door is open at the bottom so anything from rat size down could get in and I can't even be sure it happened at night. I have before had some minor damage to cushions with what appears to be beak holes but nothing else recently.
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firstly I'm jealous of you having Pyrethrum leontopodium
It could be mice gathering nesting material but my guess is the fur is too small
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Update:
I have trapped 2 mice so far, so must assume it was them removing the Pyrethrum. If you have never grown, and more to the point "stroked", this plant you can't imagine how soft and unusual it is. The daisy flowers are good too.
What surprises me is how they climb onto my bench. It has metal angle iron legs (but some slots like "Dexion") and the greenhouse is aluminium, so not a lot to grip on. They probably climb up one of the thin lengths of aluminium channel that are bolted at an angle to keep the greenhouse square, and jump onto the bench, which was a deep plunge but is now just a box, sand only under the pots. I have noticed 2 teeth marks on a Zephyranthes seed pod too.