Roses and Gardens » birds eating irises http://rosesandgardens.com/gardening Tue, 11 Oct 2011 10:24:51 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 How can I Protect my Irises from Birds? http://rosesandgardens.com/gardening/how-can-i-protect-my-irises-from-birds/ http://rosesandgardens.com/gardening/how-can-i-protect-my-irises-from-birds/#comments Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:27:21 +0000 Sandra http://rosesandgardens.com/gardening/?p=251 A little while ago I wrote about my prize irises being decapitated by birds. It seems that birds simply can’t resist the  irises. But it’s frustrating me no end.

I have had the actual flowers eaten off at the base of the flower so that all the  petals fall to the ground.  The birds don’t seem to want the flower at all, just the juicy bit below.

So today I thought of a plan.  I would shield the flowers with tin foil.  So I grabbed a roll of tin foil and proceeded to give each iris bud a protective collar so that the flower could emerge but that the juicy calyx would be protected.

I didn’t have to wait too long for the result of my experiment. I went inside for lunch, and when I came out to view my handiwork, there lay the tin foil on the ground together with the bitten off iris buds.  The birds had simply bitten off the stem below the tin foil.

Frustrating?

Yes!

But I haven’t given up yet.  I’m  determined to devise another plan and I’ll keep  you posted as to my success or otherwise.

Meanwhile, if you have any suggestions please send them in.  I will be ever so grateful!

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