The Stem Of My Red Hot Poker Keeps Having A Hole Eaten In It. What Does This

Question

Ever year I get a hole being eaten into my flower stem to the point I usually only get one flower a year. This year every stem has been eaten. The rest of the plant seems fine.

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Answer 1

Slugs and snails will eat them, but is this happening overnight? Go outside at night with a flashlight and see if the pesky critters are there. If deer have access to the garden and the stems are devoured overnight, it could be deer, but red hot poker is not usually on their menu. I would suspect the snails and slugs.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/insects/kill-garden-slugs.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/deer/deer-resistant-garden-plans.htm