Don't Be Scared Of All Snakes

What Is This Episode About

Top plants that repel snakes in your yard. Plus, the plant of the week.

Question Of The Week

"I'm petrified of snakes. What plants or other things will keep them out of my Florida yard?" - Marge

Grumpy's Answer: Ophidiophobia. That means a person with fear of snakes. So knowing that I searched the web for quote-unquote, 'Plants that repel snakes,' found some pretty ridiculous info. One expert quote-unquote, says, 'Plants with strong odors such as garlic, onions, marigolds, lemongrass, and basil chase away snakes. If that doesn't work,'and it won't, 'plant mugwort.' A horribly invasive perennial weed that's much worse than snakes. She also suggests, you might plant barrel cactus because snakes fear spines. Uh, no they don't, or the funniest of all, she says, "Plant snake plants because snakes find it pokey."

The truth is, Marge, the majority of snakes are non-venomous, and they show up in yards like yours because they're searching for prey, like rodents. The best way to send them elsewhere is to eliminate places that their food sources hide, like brush piles, and tall grass, and overgrown areas, 'cause the fewer rats and mice that are taking shelter in your yard, the fewer snakes there will there hunting them.

Plant Of The Week

Magic Lily

But the reason I tell you that is because lot of people call 'em, surprise lilies, and they're also called Naked Ladies, and that's because they announce their presence in late winter and early spring when these gray-green strap like leaves first appear, and they'll last through the fall and in through the winter, and then in the spring, the leaves all die down and disappear, and there's no sign of these lilies anywhere. Then, in August and September, all these stems appear, and they're on two foot stalks, and they have no leaves at all, which is why some people call 'em, Naked Ladies, and they'll sprout usually after a rain, and overnight, and all of a sudden, they weren't there, and then they are there.

So they're surprise lilies. Surprise!

And they have these clusters of pink, funnel-shaped flowers that are a little bit tinged with lilac, and their magic lilies that I'm talking about, they're hardier than the red flower ed cousins which we call down here, spider lilies. The botanical name for that is Lycoris radiata, and the magic lilies are suited to USDA zones 5 to 9. So if you live up north where you can't grow spider lilies, you can sure grow magic lilies. So if you want to plant them in fall, six inches deep and apart in full part sun and well drained soil, and over the years, they'll multiply to form these large clumps that you can divide and get more for free. Now, if you want to know where to get them, I will just give you one good source that I've used, and have been very happy with throughout the years, and that is brentandbeckysbulbs.com.

About Ask Grumpy

Ask Grumpy is a podcast featuring Steve Bender, also known as Southern Living’s Grumpy Gardener. For more than 30 years, Grumpy has been sharing advice on what to grow, when to plant, and how to manage just about anything in your garden. Tune in for short episodes every Wednesday and Saturday as Grumpy answers reader questions, solves seasonal conundrums, and provides need-to-know advice for gardeners with his very Grumpy sense of humor. Be sure to follow Ask Grumpy on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen so you don't miss an episode.

Editor’s Note: Please be mindful that this transcript does not go through our standard editorial process and may contain inaccuracies and grammatical errors.