Tortoises have long been known to forage on an array of plants beyond grasses and weeds; this article offers suggestions of some more eye-catching plants you can grow in your garden for their diets.
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Geraniums
Geraniums make an attractive addition to any garden as they require little care or upkeep, blooming at various times throughout the year and creating beautiful displays of colors.
Plants such as these can be grown in various potting mixtures and thrive best when given plenty of drainage, while sunlight exposure helps ensure success throughout their growing seasons. Furthermore, winter dormancy periods should present no problems.
Tortoises need plenty of water and delicious treats that provide it. Additionally, cucumbers contain high levels of vitamins A and C and protein – an invaluable combination!
Lemon Balm
Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is an aromatic, sweet, lemon-scented and fragrant plant belonging to the Laminaceae (mint family).
Lemon balm leaves can be harvested fresh for culinary use and used in salads, soups, stews, sauces and marinades, desserts such as ice cream or cookies or as part of marinades and sauces.
Lemon balm was traditionally utilized as a sedative and stress-relieving herb, either taken internally or as tea to help relax stomach acidity and promote mood stability.
As with other herbs, lemon balm needs full sun and well-drained soil with a pH range between 6 and 7. It can be grown both indoors or out in pots as a perennial.
Gazanias
Gazanias (Gazania rigens) are perennial plants with flowers resembling daisies that provide excellent desert tortoise food sources and come in an assortment of colors.
South African native plants thrive in sunny gardens and containers where the soil is generally dry, as these hardy natives hail from rocky cliffs and grassy hills that experience harsh conditions.
Gazanias can be planted either as annuals or hardy perennials. Of the two options, annual varieties usually bloom more regularly with larger and brighter blooms and foliage.
These plants can be propagated easily by starting seeds indoors late in winter and setting them out in your garden after all threat of frost has passed. You could also take basal offsets from outdoor plants and overwinter them indoors to produce new plants come spring.
Nasturtium
Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus) are edible peppery-flavored flowers with vibrant, colorful blooms that come in all sorts of shapes and sizes – perfect for garden borders, trailing or climbing plants, walls or containers!
Ornamental grasses make ideal companion plantings. Their bright blooms attract beneficial insects that work to combat rose and vegetable aphid infestations with hoverflies, such as those which destroy aphids on roses and vegetables.
If you want to add nasturtiums to your home garden, planting small starter seeds in soil may work. Or snip them as they grow for propagation using cutting stems dipped in rooting hormone powder.
Rose Petals
Rose (Rosa species) flowers can be very appetizing to tortoises, and can easily be grown in smaller gardens as long as there is enough space available for cultivation.
These flowers can be combined with oil or alcohol to produce perfumes, lotions and soaps; or used as garnish for salads and desserts.
Dried petals make an elegant addition to cocktails and cakes alike, adding color and vibrance. You could also try using dried petals as an ingredient in chocolate mousse!
Tortoises require a diet rich in a range of food plants, from leafy greens, hard vegetables and moist fruits, as well as grasses and weeds, edible flowers and other hardy, nutritious plant species. Desert tortoises require special consideration when choosing their food sources as this might include grasses and weeds that provide shelter in addition to leaves for shade and hard vegetables that produce their fruits.