Hollyhocks (Alcea rosea) are classic cottage garden plants, cherished for their tall, striking spires and colorful, saucer-shaped blooms. These plants can reach impressive heights, often between 5 to 8 feet, adding vertical interest and charm to borders and backdrops. Gardeners frequently encounter challenges from various garden pests, prompting questions about how to protect them.
Rabbits and Hollyhocks
Rabbits eat hollyhocks, particularly young plants, tender new growth, and lower leaves. While not a primary food choice, they consume them, especially when other preferred food sources are scarce. Mature plants might survive some browsing, but extensive damage to young plants can severely impede their growth or even destroy them. Rabbits are drawn to the easy access and chewability of hollyhock leaves.
Recognizing Rabbit Damage
Identifying rabbit damage on hollyhocks requires looking for specific signs. Rabbits create clean, angled cuts on stems and leaves, as if snipped with shears. This contrasts with deer damage, which typically leaves ragged or torn edges. Rabbit feeding usually occurs low to the ground, within their reach, often around 2 feet or less from the soil surface. Gardeners might also find small, round droppings, resembling peas, scattered near damaged plants.
Keeping Rabbits Away From Hollyhocks
Physical barriers offer one of the most effective methods for protecting hollyhocks from rabbits. Installing a fence around your garden or individual plants can prevent access. This fencing should be at least 2 to 3 feet tall to prevent rabbits from jumping over and buried 3 to 6 inches deep, with the buried portion bent outward, to deter digging underneath. Using mesh or chicken wire with openings no larger than one inch is recommended.
Repellents can also be used, working by making plants taste unpleasant or emitting strong odors that rabbits dislike. Commercial repellents often contain ingredients like blood meal, egg solids, or hot pepper. Homemade options can include sprays made from garlic, hot peppers, or vinegar. Repellents require reapplication, especially after rain or as new plant growth emerges, and their effectiveness can vary depending on food availability and rabbit populations. Removing brush piles, tall weeds, and other sheltered areas around the garden can also make the environment less appealing to rabbits, as they seek cover.
Other Rabbit-Resistant Options
For gardeners seeking alternatives to hollyhocks that are less appealing to rabbits, several plant options exist. Generally, rabbits tend to avoid plants with strong scents, bitter tastes, rough or fuzzy textures, or those that are mildly toxic. Examples of rabbit-resistant plants include many pungent herbs (lavender, rosemary, mint, sage, alliums), flowers like marigolds, yarrow, and lungwort, and perennials such as astilbe, baptisia, bleeding heart, columbine, hardy geraniums, hellebores, and sedum. While no plant is entirely “rabbit-proof,” these options are typically less likely to be damaged.