Cat dug up a Dactylorhiza tuber

[mark smyth]

A bloody cat has been digging where I put some of my removed Dactylorhiza tubers. Thanks fully only one was totally exposed.This has resulted in the 'fingers' withering but the main tuber and nose are OK.

My guess it the roots that are produced now are anchor roots but feeding roots emerge from below the nose.

Will the tuber be OK?

If I catch the cat i'll be removing its orchis - if its a male

[Neil]

Mark bury chicken wire just below the surface, the shoots wire grow through it and the tubers will be protected.

[ronm]

It wasn't us .....honest 

[Martinr]

Buy chicken wire....nah, just exterminate cats

[John Aipassa]

Was it really a cat or was it a rabbit? The latter is notorious for digging everything up when the soil is disturbed time after time. Your soil was freshly disturbed if you removed your Dactylorhizas just recently. My neighbours have many cats which patrol my garden constantly, but I have never caught one digging. But when it comes to rabbits....I am fed up with the vigilance. I am planning to buy a gun and stock my freezer for X-Mas already 

[ronm]

Buy chicken wire....nah, just exterminate cats

Maybe ......... Maybe Not!!!

[Martinr]

10/10, although I had some sympathy with the orginal sinner

[mark smyth]

The cat had dug the hole to have a poop.

[John Aipassa]

The cat had dug the hole to have a poop.

Well maybe he wanted to help you with fertilizing 
or he wanted to pull of a prank.    

[brianw]

The Hedgehogs living outside my backdoor have been raiding a patch of Dactylorhizas for bedding material. Fortunately we were watching it grabbing mouthfuls of vegetation and saw what was going on. At least 2 Dacs were pulled up, and one is now being slept on by the sow and 3 young ones. She got a severe talking to and stayed under the conifer then. I have had to try fencing them off, but my wife watched the sow going behind the screen earlier today, but I don't think she took anything this time.

If I can work out how to do it I will post some videos on Youtube of the family. The sow carrying the youngsters in her mouth is something to watch.

[gote]

My rabbits or the cat we sometimes babysit do not dig up anything but mice do. I use metal net with 5-6mm mesh width (Not mesh number) and put it 1-2 cm below the surface or just above the bulbs. All small plants like Corydalis, Crocus and Dactylorhiza get through the openings easily as long as the net is not exposed above the surface.  For single, or very few plants, I bend a 5cm edge down to form a cage. This is very useful for retrieving single rare bulbs since they tend to stay in the little "basket" thus formed.
Meow
Göte
PS
The rabbits eat all the nuts from the hazels before they are ripe - I do not care I do not like hazel nuts.
 

[Stephen Vella]

try using electrical tape around the nursery with a rechargeable battery  they wont come back 

[johnw]

Tom - Kokuho Rose, brown or basmati?   

They have shredded the nerine leaves in the front bed and have now started on the styro insulation in the barn, tearing it to shreds and leaving a helluva mess every night.

johnw

[Peter Maguire]

I've used the high frequency sound products and they seem effective. The only problem is they run off batteries and unless you remember to turn the device off when you are working in the garden, the batteries soon run down.
I usually forget....