Thanks Ken, they're not in pots. They're planted in the ground.

We're in a clay zone, but our yard's soil was altered by our landscapers who removed a lot of the clay and mixed/dug in compost over a period of 4 months.

I don't fertilize conifers so thankfully that won't be a problem, but I'll find a rabbit repellent. I've never had this issue before. Guess the rabbits were really hungry this winter :)

- Sharlene

Thuja occidentalis 'Linesville' is the correct name for this plant. The other AKA's are simply unfortunate and dubious renamings.

Sadly, I've signed on for a home & garden tour this Spring so I'll need to find a creative solution. My husband recommended potting 'the eaten ones' and planting replacements since we like these plants a lot. Then, plant the 'the eaten ones' somewhere else in our ever expanding conifered yard :)

I put 24" tall chicken wire fences around stuff I want to keep rabbits away from during winter months. They would eat all the buds, and sometimes the bark, off my japanese maples.

Get a dog.

edlincoln, I have two dogs :)

Dogs don't help unless they are in the yard 24/7.

I had a Chocolate Lab that was the most rabbit/squirrel chasing-est dog ever, but quite ineffective when lying on the couch, on her back with her feet in the air, snoring like a chain saw!