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Possum proof screening trees ?
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Posted by Chris_Rex Vic Aust (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 6:21
Hi,
We need to plant some screening trees along our front boundary. These will be 1.8 to 2.4 or even up to 3.0 metres tall and will cost up to $400 or more each. We dont want possums to eat them out so we are looking for possum proof, or relatively possum proof species.
So far we found the following:
Magnolia grandifolia Little Gem.
Prunus prunus laurocerasus
Schefflera actinophylla
Pittosporum; "Going Green"
Any comments on the above wrt possums and or any suggestions on alternative species available as advanced evergreen plants ? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Possum proof screening trees ?
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| I know from experience that possums are not attracted to the prunus laurocerasus (or perhaps I fed them too well). Birds, however, will feast on the fruit. If you are close to bushland do be aware that in some areas, such as the Blue Mountains of NSW, Cherry Laurel seeds spread by birds will germinate and are regarded as undesirable weeds. I do not live in a bushland area - I have three Cherry Laurels. |
RE: Possum proof screening trees ?
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| What a lot of people do in N.Z is attach trunk guards to the trees - these are metal (or robust plastic) strips approximately 40-50 cm wide that are attached around the circumference of each tree trunk and help stop the possums climbing up. The ones I've seen are about 1-1.5m or more up the tree trunk. I don't know if possums are attracted to Pittosporums - but they seem to LOVE any other N.Z native! Good luck! |
RE: Possum proof screening trees ?
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| My daughter and her friend camped in the garden one night and, being scared of whatever, I hung a kero lamp in the apricot tree which was in fruit. Kids came 'home' during the night and I forgot about the lamp which burned for a couple of nights. Possums avoided apricot tree!! When in fruit, apricot tree was thereafter always provided with kero lamp. Not sure if it was the light or the smell. But we got the apricots. Sorry about our possums, Greenfingers. A friend has just come back from a NZ holiday - was most impressed with the first hedgehog she had ever seen. |
RE: Possum proof screening trees ?
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| Hedgehogs are cute aren't they!!! But, we have our English ancestors to thank for them - at least they don't cause damage in the garden!!!! However destructive Possums are Wombat, your possums do make beautiful jerseys, scarves and gloves! A kero lamp you reckon? hmmmm, must tell my mother - her persimmon tress are being hammered by possums at present...grrr! |
RE: Possum proof screening trees ?
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| Sadly, the closest I've been to a hedgehog is Mrs Tiggywinkle. Do they all wear aprons, or only the females? I used to hang the lamp in the bottom of the apricot tree (now live in a possumless environment and the new house owners removed my apricot tree). For whatever reason, the possums didn't seem to like going past it. My persimmons are attacked by currawongs - bit nasty crow-like natives that hang around in gangs and eat anything, including smaller birds and eggs. I used to have ring neck doves but the currawongs got them. Yesterday I put a few little plastic ducks on the fish pond in the hope that I might choke a couple of currawongs. |
RE: Possum proof screening trees ?
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| Conifers in general are fairly safe from possums, tho wallabies will browse them up to head head sometimes |
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