I will soon plant some thorn-less gooseberries. Will rabbits chew them off like they did branches on my apple and peach tree espaliers?
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I would protect the bush for the first year, maybe two. If there is a snow, rabbits will nibble at some buds or perhaps the end of a branch, but do not mow them down like apples or blackberries, in my experience.
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Bunnies like my gooseberries, even the super thorny ones! I keep them fenced in the winter time.
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Yes they won’t hesitate
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My gooseberries and currants are about the only things the local rabbits didn’t mow to the ground. Anything else less than 1/2 inch thick that wasn’t caged got nipped to the ground right around the time all the other vegetation died back for the winter. Beach plum seedlings, NJ tea, some leftover persimmon seedlings, all nipped. I sure hope they keep ignoring my Ribes!
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If you catch them first and make rabbit stew the y won’t mow your plants down. I caught 21 raccoons in as many days protecting a corn patch. They are only good for ground meat or nitrogen compost.
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Steve, I have killed way too many animals during my research career. Hated doing that and will not kill again. (I even gave up fishing.)
I complained to a Russian friend about the rabbits. She said they don’t have rabbit problems in Russia: they eat them as fast as they can multiply.
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