July 12, 2022: What’s Happening to the Sedum??
I have been watching a large patch of sedum growing near my deck, and the leaves are looking chewed and wrinkled. I looked closely for insects and didn’t see any.
Mystery solved! Nature Group member Deb Charlesworth asked me if I had seen birds eating the sedum. No, I replied but headed to Google to check it out. Sure enough, I found the answer.
“If your sedums are getting ragged-looking like this, you can blame the birds. In summer, birds seeking water will begin eating the juicy, succulent leaves of sedum. Maybe they like the taste too because the damage has been seen with available water in close proximity. Fortunately, the birds usually leave the flower buds alone to bloom in late summer, but the whole plant certainly looks worse for wear for the rest of the summer.” Source: newgarden.com
One solution is to cover your sedum with bird netting for a good part of the summer. Spray-on repellents don’t work on birds since they have little or no sense of taste or smell.
No taste or smell? Well, that’s a question for another day.
Happy (maybe a little ragged) birding!