Just recently, the autumn anemones were freshly divided, provided with compost and cut back for the start of the coming gardening season. But what is that? A few weeks later, traces of feeding can be seen on the young leaves
Are autumn anemones susceptible to snails?
Autumn anemones are rarely affected by snail damage, but fresh shoots are particularly at risk in spring. Preventative measures include planting in sunny areas, surrounding with slug-repellent plants, and putting up a slug fence.
Fresh shoots are at risk
Especially the fresh leaves and shoots that appear in spring are at risk of being eaten by snails. The young leaves and shoots still contain few anti-feeding substances, which is why the snails prefer them instead of the older parts of the plant in summer and autumn.
So be careful if you have freshly sown the autumn anemones after the winter, divided them, replanted them or cut them back heavily! Weakened plants are also more susceptible to snail damage.
Basically they are rarely eaten
Compared to other perennials and vegetable plants, autumn anemones are rarely eaten by snails. Only when the food supply is quite sparse do snails seek out autumn anemones. There are more tasty plants that are on your menu.
What you can do about the snails
Once snails have discovered the plants, there's not much you can do. Collecting the voracious animals has now proven successful. The evening hours are ideal for this, as the snails become particularly active at sunset. You can also set up traps (€12.00 on Amazon) that will kill the snails.
Prevention of snail damage
Prevention is better than resistance. You can take the following measures, among others:
- watering in the morning
- plant the perennials in a sunny spot (to avoid snails)
- Plant plants around that snails prefer to eat (green salad)
- Plant plants around that repel snails (ferns, grasses, downy perennials, strongly scented herbs, poisonous plants such as monkshood, lily of the valley, foxglove)
- Set up a snail fence
Tip
The autumn anemone called 'Praecox' is said to be not susceptible to snail damage, unlike many of its conspecifics.
