Both snails and slugs especially like herbaceous perennials with nice juicy leaves, like most hostas (heart lily, funkia). They also eat young leaves, young shoots, seedlings and soft fruits of all kinds of plant species. They can easily process these with their rasp tongue (radula). They grate elongated holes in the leaves; usually slime trails are also visible.
Snails generally dislike leathery, hard and thick leaves and the leaves of strongly fragrant and bitter-tasting plants, such as many kitchen herbs. They also leave plants with poisonous leaves or sap (finghamwort, spurge, monkshood, etc.) alone.
PERENNIALS THAT SNAILS STAY AWAY FROM
| agastache | licorice plant | Alchemilla | lady’s mantle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Achillea | yarrow | Aconitum | monkshood |
| anemone | especially autumn anemones | Aquilegia | columbine |
| aruncus | goat beard | astilbe | featherspirea |
| Astrantia | Zeeland button | Bergenia | cobbler plant |
| Chelone | turtle flower | Dianthus | grass carnation |
| digitalis | foxglove | Erysimum | perennial wallflower |
| Euphorbia | spurge | fuchsia | bubble plant |
| Geranium | cranesbill/perennial garden geranium | Helenium | sun herb |
| hellebore | Christmas rose / winter rose / hellebore | Heuchera | purple bells |
| lavender | liriope muscaric | lily grass | |
| nepeta | catnip | Paeonia | peony |
| penstemon | snake head | persicaria | knapweed |
| Physostegia | hinge flower | Rodgersia | rear admiral |
| Saxifraga | saxifrage | Sedum | stonecrop/key of heaven |
| Solidago | goldenrod | Stachys | andoorn |
| Thalictrum | diamond | Veronica | speedwell |
| Vinca | periwinkle |
HOSTAS WITH SOMEWHAT HARDER LEAVES, WHICH SNAILS USUALLY LEAVE ALONE
- The large, yellow-leaved Hosta ‘Sum and Substance’
- ‘One Man’s Treasure’, dark green with red petioles
- ‘Praying Hands’, dark green, folded, crinkled leaves with a yellow margin
- Hosta sieboldiana ‘Elegans’ and ‘ Frances Williams ‘ (both blue-green foliage)
- ‘ Devon Green ‘ and ‘ Halcyon ‘ (both green-leaved)
SNAILS ALSO DON’T LIKE:
- Ornamental grasses
- ferns
- Begonia , Crocosmia , Lilium (bulbs)
- Tropaeolum majus (nasturtium)
- roses
KITCHEN HERBS THAT SNAILS ABSOLUTELY DO NOT LIKE:
| Allium sativum | garlic | Allium schoenoprasum | chives |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allium scorodoprasum | snake look | Allium tuberosum | Chinese chives |
| Artemisia | wormwood | foeniculum | fennel |
| Helichrysum italicum | curry spice | Hyssopus officinalis | hyssop |
| Mentha | coin | Rosmarinus | rosemary |
| Salvia officinalis | sage | Thymus | thyme |
Also read “ Prevent, counter and combat snails ” and also take a look at “ Snail facts ” and under ” Snails in my garden, what can I do? ”
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