Pests????

Squirrels?

just curious tony,

you found a huge ?? digging in your patio pots.

as for the birdsi don't think seagulls are into pulling and eating plants, not so sure pigeons will either they are seed eaters, dunno about jackdaws dunno what type of bird they are, but if they are vegetation eaters then maybe not guilty either.

so we need to hear what large something was digging in the pots.

but sounds a little like maybe human intervention?? for a whole plant to dissapear not many bugs can do that.

grassh snipped

So something cut them off at ground level and removed the plant leaving the roots, is that right?

I don't share your range of fauna but I very much doubt that this was birds. It is either a human or an animal with teeth. Examine the stumps closely. Were they cut or chewed off?

In these parts I would say possum.

David

Jackdaw..........a relative of the American Crow. Check out Wikipedia: Jackdaw. Emilie

I think it was another person's doing, couldn't be a bug of any kind and if an animal of any kind had been at it, you'd be able to tell because there would be mess left behind.

Rats.

It wouldn't be rats.

I have had squirrels dig up pots on decks and scatter dirt all over the place. This time of year is prime time for them..

Can't say about the primulas, though, I have seen whole new-growth plants vanish early in the spring on the deck.

Boron

I've found that covering the pot with chicken wire discourages the squirrels.

Oh, indeed it does, but in season, I am liable to have 75 pots and planters scattered on the decks, hardly manageable with chicken wire.

Still, evil though I believe the squirrels are (and I can relate tales of their home invasions, too), they do, at times, offer up gifts that are surprising and rewarding. I have had sunflowers come up all over the place, and have acquired a couple of nut trees. They trees may likely never produce, but I love nurturing something that springs up unplanned and unbidden.

Boron