I’ve wanted a butterfly weed plant for years and this year I finally just decided to buy some small ones and remove any guesswork. That night the idiot squirrel that lives on my property dug them both up, so this is my solution to protect the new one i was graciously given for free from the same nursery i got the others.
I used like ten 6" landscaping staples to anchor the wire, and if the squirrel gets through that I’m gonna lose my shit
I find that squirrels have a lot more time in a day to try to figure out how to get to food, than I have to try to prevent them.
If I stop the squirrels, its more interesting to the bunnies, so then they join in to try.
If the bunnies try, then it becomes a competition with the chipmunks and ground hogs.
Within a week I have a deer in my yard claiming victory over all the tiny animals that aren’t as great and majestic, while standing over the hole that used to be my special plant.
I typically try not to fight nature, but I’ve wanted a butterfly weed plant for YEARS and refuse to sacrifice this one
My wife wanted tulips. So we bought a dozen and planted them in a row next to the driveway. As they came up the bunnies and squirrels ate them. My wife was sad. So my wife said, if they eat a dozen, they won’t be able to eat a hundred before they bloom. So we planted a hundred. After several years, we still have a couple, but we need to plant more. The critters will eat what they like. If I wanted something, I’d plant more than 3. In all seriousness, I hope it survives and thrives, I have a few, and the critters and insects like them.