duck-proof plants?

[Nyowpotopop]

So I see a number of these gorgeous duck pictures with the ducks standing in enclosures or gardens with gorgeous plants.

I would love to have some plants like that around my future pen so... What are some plants ducks are less inclined to eat? If it makes a diference I'm after Muscovy ducks... The hope being that thier quiet calls will make them optimal for the suburban area I live in. I'd like plants to help keep the soil bound together (instead of muddy pools) and make the place look fancier for when I have people over! XD

So! Please share your duck with plants pictures and tell me what you keep around YOUR ducks!

 

[Amiga]

I will look into taking some photo's today.

Meanwhile, I have found that perennials are of less interest than annuals, and that once plants get to a certain height, about one to two feet, they are of less interest. Also, single stemmed plants by themselves tend to get knocked over more than a stand of plants.

Examples of plants not bothered by my runners:

butterfly bush
goldenrod
feverfew
false indigo
candlemaker's rush
elderberry
Sesquehanna cherry
dwarf pears and apples
sunroot (Helianthus tuberosus)
viburnums
winterberry
hay scented fern
grapes

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

It also depends on where you live. We are in FL and grow bamboo, birds of paradise and other plants they just don't touch.

 

[Amiga]

Some bamboo will grow even here in New England. Just a little suggestion: put some kind of in-the-ground border around it to prevent it spreading.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Of you can get bamboo to grow up there just buy the clumping only as it doesn't spread like the running variety.

 

[Nyowpotopop]

Ugh, bamboo is awful round here. It just goes everywhere and is invasive but if I can make one little patch of it in concrete maybe. (Then I could have bamboo around too and I do like bamboo.)

We're actually looking at putting the duck pen in an area by some grape plants... But I will be fencing those out of my yard because I own dogs and they are dog-toxic. And they WILL eat 'em... Elderberry could work... I have to be careful about dog-toxic plants too!

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Clumping Bamboo won't run everywhere. Trust me we are in FL, we have trees that you in Ohio grow as house plants. Everything takes over down here, but clumping bamboo is very easy to contain.

 

[Wulfandwyn]

Clumping Bamboo won't run everywhere. Trust me we are in FL, we have trees that you in Ohio grow as house plants. Everything takes over down here, but clumping bamboo is very easy to contain.

I have clumping bamboo too and I live in California and it works great. The ducks chew some of the lower leaves but mostly just fertilize the bamboo. My ducks devour grape leaves and have nibbled on feverfew but mostly leave it alone.

 

[Nyowpotopop]

I'll look into it for a nice patch of plantage then. I do enjoy bamboo... And I'd like a patch of it.

What about flowers? Are there any anuals that would work? I really hate re-planting flowers every year...

And I meant my dogs would eat the grapes.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

With the clumping bamboo just step on the new sprouts (cones) and break them off to stop unwanted spreading. Flowers ours cleared out the pansies and marigolds they eat the star jasmine blooms, hibiscus blooms, and gardenia too. They haven't eaten the Plumera tree leaves and blooms yet, but it's a very tropical plant that we even have to protect during winter.

If you want a plant to hold up, plant it early and let it get established and tall. They will be less likely to cause major damage. Ornamental grasses work very well.