Squirrels have been chewing some of our foliar plants since spring. Now that they found our banana trees, I am more concerned. Their damage is more severe and impossible to ignore.

1. Musa acuminata ‘Golden Rhino Horn’ banana got chomped by a squirrel, right where its new leaf is unfurling. A Musa acuminata ‘Ever Red’ banana got chomped at its base! Squirrels are also chomping other cultivars of banana and two species of Chamaedorea.

2. Musa ingens, oem, or giant highland banana demonstrates what a young banana tree should look like without squirrels chomping on them like little arboreal demon beavers. I will be furious if I see any more damage on any of these more prominent banana trees.

3. Crassula ovata, jade plant is not often considered to be a ‘foliar’ plant, but happens to function splendidly as such by obscuring the otherwise bare bases of several of the small banana trees. It all grew from pruning scraps from one big, old and sculptural specimen.

4. Hedychium coronarium ‘Vanilla Ice’ ginger was chomped by squirrels as soon as new growth began to develop last spring. Fortunately, it recovered. Although it appears to be ‘Vanilla Ice’, and likely is, I was told that its flowers are white rather than vanilla yellow.

5. Alocasia gigantea, elephant ear was also chomped by squirrels as soon as it started to regenerate foliage last spring, and also recovered. It is quite large now. If its foliage were not so simple, it would be as striking as that of the old fashioned Philodendron selloum.

6. Philodendron selloum ‘Lickety Split’ philodendron produces the striking foliage of the species, but not the form. Its multiple trunks are so stout that I have not seen them yet. I suspect that individual leaves do not get very big either. Squirrels have ignored it so far.

This is the link for Six on Saturday, for anyone else who would like to participate: https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/six-on-saturday-a-participant-guide/

8 thoughts on “Six on Saturday: Leave It To Beaver”

    1. Fortunately, I do not think that squirrels are as destructive as bunnies. Also fortunately, with the exceptions of the Chaemadoreas, most of their victims should survive.

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  2. The squirrels must be exceptionally hungry to chomp on that selection of plants! They nearly defoliated a wax myrtle here last autumn, but it was filled with drupes. I have never seen them attack Alocasia. Perhaps because we have trees with fruits and nuts that they prefer. Do you spray with any animal repellents to slow them down? Your gingerlily has such pretty leaves- I hope you will be happy when it blooms. Lovely jade plant, too!

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    1. I use no repellent because such a damage has not happened until now. Banana foliage is quite edible, but Alocasia and philodendron foliage is caustic if not cooked properly. Squirrels should find something more palatable to eat. This variegated ginger lily is not the same that you sent to me. That white butterfly ginger grows like a weed, and is quite impressive! I hope it blooms this year. I have already shared quite a bit of it with colleagues. It has been the most vigorous of all the gingers that I have acquired since its arrival.

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      1. I’m glad you are enjoying the white butterfly gingerlily. Mine came from a neighbor when she was selling her home and yes, it does grow somewhat like a weed. But where my original planting now gets more shade, it bloom has declined a bit. It is such a fragrant flower that we really enjoy its late summer bloom, which lasts for several weeks here. The squirrels here are very destructive and I spray my Caladium ‘bulbs’ before planting them so the squirrels won’t dig them up. They dig up and eat Cyclamen and other ‘bulbs’ (anything not poisonous, like daffies) and so everything is sprayed just before planting it. And then I spray the soil over the planting with Plantskydd or similar. They have not yet tried to eat my other ariods, but maybe because the trees are more palatable. I’m so sorry they are eating and destroying the beauty of your foliage plants! That Philodendron is phenomenal. I used to grow them with those sorts of leaves years ago, as a house plant. But it has been at least 30 years, and you reminded me how much I enjoyed them.

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      2. There are about seven cultivars of ornamental ginger here, and on culinary variety, but the white butterfly is still my favorite because it is white. Yellow butterfly ginger is likely my least favorite because it sort of looks like the white butterfly ginger, but with blandly pale yellow flowers. Fortunately, it has not been growing as vigorously as the white butterfly ginger. I want to see the bloom of the variegated ginger, since it is supposedly also white, although I suspect that it is peachy or yellowish.

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