How to Plant
If rabbits are desperate, they will try just about anything. They may eat a particular kind of plant in your yard, but not eat the same plant in your neighbor’s garden.
For a fighting chance remember the following:
- Use plants that are big enough to survive nibbling.
- Put chicken wire around newly planted or small plants.
- Use plants that are aromatic (smelly) or sappy.
- Bury all drip irrigation tubing – yes, they will chew into this, too.
- Don’t over water! Rabbits like nothing better than to munch on a juicy, water filled plant.
Some plant species that rabbits may ignore:
Type | Resistant species |
Agave | All varieties |
Aloe | All varieties |
Bird of Paradise | Caesalpinia pulcherrima |
Brittlebush | Encelia farinosa |
Cacti | Most varieties of native cacti |
Creosote | Larrea tridentata |
Cuphea | Cuphea hyssopifolia, Cuphea llavea |
Dalea | Dalea greggii, Dalea bicolor |
Desert Zinnia | Zinnia acerosa, Zinnia grandiflora |
Emu Bush | Eremphila maculata, Eremophila decipiens |
Eucalyptus | All varieties are highly aromatic |
Evergreen Sumac | Rhus choriophylla |
Geranium | Especially scented varieties |
Goldeneye | Viguiera deltoidea |
Gopher Plant | Euphorbia rigida |
Iris | Bearded, Dutch, Siberian, Japanese |
Lantana | Most varieties |
Lavender | All varieties of Lavandula |
Lavender Cotton | Santolina chamaecyparissus |
Marigold | Tagetes lemmonii, Tagetes lucida |
Mint | Mentha, All varieties |
Nandina | Nandina domestica |
Oenothera | O. caespitosa. O. berlandieri, O. stubbei |
Pineapple guava | Feijoa sellowiana |
Plumbago | Plumbago auriculata, Plumbago scandens |
Red Yucca | Hesperaloe parviflora |
Rosemary | Rosmarinus |
Salvia (Sage) | All varieties – Salvia greggii etc. |
Sophora | S. secundiflora |
Verbena | Most varieties |
Yucca | Yucca rigida |