On 26/06/2010 3:31 PM, Davo wrote:
Thanks for your ideas (PC: I like the way you think!). There are no
"snail trails" or grub droppings anywhere near the plants, so I tended
to look elsewhere. The whole leaf (but not the stem) seems to go
basically overnight - to my way of thinking, too fast for either snails
or grubs.
Has anybody ever heard of possums with a liking for this type of thing?
I'm thinking of making a couple of birdwire frames to put over a couple
of plants and comparing them with uncovered plants after a few weeks.

"PC" wrote in message
...
On 24/06/2010 12:53 PM, Davo wrote:
Although they are supposed to be poisonous, the leaves on my rhubarb
plants are being regularly eaten back to the stem.
There does not appear to be any caterpillars or snails on them, which
would have been my guess.
Any thoughts as to what the culprits might be?

Davo
Seems like various opinions here.
Suggest you use the broad spectrum approach.
Snail bait, observation and attack accordingly.
If the snail bait doesn't work, leave the wife out in the garden at
night till she observes something to report.
No point in missing the footy, and tennis...


You could be right This is what I found for you...
Pests are rarely a problem. Slugs and snails can wreak a bit of havoc
with the leaves, but this is mostly an issue of cosmetics. Flavour is
unaffected. In my garden possums are the main threat to our enjoyment of
rhubarb and apple for dessert. Believe it or not, they manage to eat the
leaves without being poisoned, and in the space of a week, entire plants
can be chomped almost to ground level.

One final word of warning: rhubarb leaves are high in oxalic acid. In
other words they’re poisonous, and if you manage to chew through around
five kilograms of the things, they’ll probably kill you. Seriously
though, it’s best to leave them to the possums, and make full use of the
stems. Rhubarb and apple – I can taste it now!