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Q : Last winter , squirrels ate up the 300crocus bulbsI’d just planted . In saltation they ate the leaves of any they ’d miss , as well as my tulip efflorescence , especially the orange 1 . Are there medulla I can implant this nightfall that squirrels do n’t like?—Katherine Bach , Longmeadow , Mass.
A : There is one sort of crocus , the pale - lavender “ tommies ” ( Crocus tommasinianus ) , that might do work better for you . squirrel often leave them alone . But if you may develop a love of daffodils , your free buffet for squirrels is history . Squirrels will wrench away in disgust the flash they try one . Like most of their relatives in the Amaryllis family , daffodils carry a toxin that would kill any squirrel dumb enough to keep eating — which is why daffs are about as close to a pestproof perennial as you will find . you may build a fabulous spring garden around daffodils , too , because there are so many truly unlike kinds — from as myopic as 6 column inch to as marvellous as 2 feet — with diverse efflorescence forms and color combinations in every class . If you plant kinds with varying bloom times , you could have daffs in flower for six to eight weeks . A planting ofNarcissus‘February Gold , ’ N. ‘ Camelot , ’ N. ‘ Quail , ’ andN. poeticus var . recurvuswill extend the season , but there are many other good option . Many kinds reproduce freely and make excellent cut flowers . For us two - legged crocus - lovers , daffs have only two drawbacks : Their blooms can be bright - icteric to orange - Bolshevik to pure clean , but never purple , and they bloom a few weeks later in give than crocuses .
But you do n’t have to be without former spring flowers if you plant a couple of other Amaryllis congener : wood anemone ( galanthus ) and leap snowflake ( Leucojum vernum ) . Their small white bloom may not be as dramatic as those of crocuses , but embed thickly , even a few straight feet of them make a beautiful instruction — and the squirrels wo n’t corrode them , either . Both wood anemone and snowflake spread nicely on their own and grow better in the subtlety of tall trees than either crocus or daffodil do . Two other squirrel - proof bounce bulbs that breed quickly ( and prosper in shade , too ) are muscari ( grape vine hyacinths ) and hyacinthoides ( bluebells or wood hyacinths ) . Members of the Lily family , they do n’t contain the toxin , but rodents witness them distasteful and lean to get out them alone . These two bloom of youth later , with recent daffodils and tulips . In sunnier flush beds , where you would plant tulip , try large - flowered hyacinth for the former part of the time of year , interplanted with cosmetic onion ( alliums ) to land up the show . genus Allium aflatunense , A. giganteum , A. karataviense , andA. molyare all late - give - bloom . They are absolutely edible and would do curiosity for the meat - health of rodent , but most squirrels ( like most multitude ) find the flavor of a raw onion just a small too powerful to make into a meal .
