The Nandina Mystery
Gardening by the Yard : Episode GBY-715 -- More Projects »
Several years ago, master gardener Paul James planted several nandinas in one of his beds. And up until a few months ago, they were doing just great. Then, all of the sudden, he noticed one of them lying on the ground, then another, and another, and now only two remain. He noticed something very peculiar at the base of each plant (figure A)--unmistakable signs of chewing, but certainly not by a caterpillar or bug.
After eliminating gophers and moles, he concluded that the culprit must be a mouse whose food supply had dwindled so much that it was forced to gnaw on the nandinas. So to prevent damage to the remaining nandinas, he pulled the mulch back away from the base of the plants (figure B) and set out non-toxic, sticky-style mousetraps. The reason for pulling the mulch back is simple. Mice don't like to show themselves, especially when they feed. With mulch up next to the plants, mice can tunnel to the base unnoticed, but with the mulch pulled back, they are less likely to do that.
![PHOTO](javascript:popup("http://img.hgtv.com/HGTV/2003/03/27/gby715_4a_e.jpg",350,450))
![PHOTO](javascript:popup("http://img.hgtv.com/HGTV/2003/03/27/gby715_4b_e.jpg",350,450))
