Please post either the names or photos of plants that deer eat in your neighborhood. I would love to complie a list of everything in my area that deer are know to eat. I'm sure this would be helpful to many people.
Here is a Viburnum that the deer devour every spring (from the ground to about 5.6-6')
Thanks!
Meyer Lilac...the deer eat the branch tips in late winter/early spring but don't touch the flowers that manage to survive the winter pruning.
Deer eat our Hydrangea every winter and we never have any blooms. Hardly a shrub worth growing without the beautiful flowers.
The deer eat our Daylily as soon as they emerge from the ground. They frequently will munch them down several times before they throw up flower spikes. Then when the plants have been in full bloom for several days they return and eat all the flowers. They don't usually eat any flowers that re-bloom later in the summer.
Deer eat all the blooms off our Azalea each year. Can't remember the last time we had flowers on our Azalea. Some years they only nibble on the Azalea by our driveway, depending on the amount of traffic in our shared driveway.
They also eat our Roses (especially the Carefree Shrub roses), Impatiens, Begonia and Pulmonaria
I don't know all the wild plants and weeds they eat around here but they do eat these garden plants:
Crepe Myrtle
Iris
Canterbury Bells
Hosta
... I'm drawing a blank, those are all I can think of right now.
Wow, I didn't know they ate Crepe Myrtle!!! That is a plant I love to use in design so I guess I need to be more careful. Yes, I forgot abuot Hosta...deer love ours too. They never touch our Iris so I thought maybe they were slightly toxic or something.
Thanks CaptMicha!
But I'm sure there's plenty more they eat that goes unnoticed by me! They're ravenous in the fall.
They're not supossed to go after iris but nothing stopped my guys.
My variegated dogwood, my maple tree - excuse me, bush - they stripped the bark year before last, my roses (but only the buds and flowers), and my hostas. Haven't caught them eating anything else yet.
Secluded - I know they eat mountain laurel here in our area of Pa. So they probably can eat other toxic ornamentals too.
Thanks for the info...I am going to start making my list. Hope we continue to get more helpful information on this thread.
Never realized they ate mountain laurel. Do they browse the twigs or only eat the flowers?
Secludedgardens..........I live in Northern Michigan, and Deer here will eat anything. I do have two large German Shepherds so perhaps that keeps mine at bay, however they will eat the fresh new perennials that are popping up in the ground and that's when I take out the LIQUID FENCE and spray......It comes in a liquid form spray bottle, and very economical. It does not come off with rain, however you should spray at least 3 to 4 times in a season. I buy mine at a large grocery chain called Meijers. If you can't find it at your local nursery you could check out their website. Good Luck!
www.liquidfence.com
Thanks deann, I will check out their website.
In addition to the plants mentioned above, my deer eat my fruit tree leaves and lantana blooms. I ordered Liquid Fence, but it still hasn't arrived!!
Sedum,all types
yew
bearded iris
rose of sharon
In our yard the deer don't eat the Sedum 'Autumn Joy' or the Rose of Sharon. I wish they would eat all the Rose of Sharon!!! Sorry, but I really don't care for those plants. Come to think of it, I did purchase a half dozen variegated ground cover type sedum that did not return this year...guess the deer got them.
Thanks golgi
Also,Burning Bush(down to the nub),stachys,perrenial salvia.They aren't real shy,this is out our family room window
These pictures are out of my sun room window......they came in every afternoon around 5 to get corn that we put out for them......have never come up to the house though, and I think its because I have two german shephards....and one of my shephards loves to sleep in the sun room.........
Deann
Okay...more new info! Didn't realize they ate Burning Bush or Lamb's Ear. Glad to hear that the deer don't come up to the house. Many people tell me that their property is left alone due to the presence of a dog. That's a pretty good fringe benefit to having a dog.
Think I will start a list of plants deer are know to each along with the zone & state. I'll create the spreadsheet on excel and if anyone wants a copy just email me.
They eat anything here-rhododendrons, woodbine, autumn joy sedum, nandina, ferns (all varieties), hostas, daylilies, oriental lilies, pansies, impatiens, petunias, thrift, viburnum (all varieties) roses, butterfly bushes, marigolds, zinnias, mealy cup sage (they don't like this too much, but they will eat it.) azaleas, euonymus (sp??), They do not eat fothergilla and boxwood. They have left skip laurel alone also. Deer are so common here that they sleep against the foundation of our house. They will also eat grapes, all other berries, and the low hanging branches of all fruit trees. They also eat low branches of ornamental crabapples.
LGW...I can't believe they sleep near the house! Do you think they eat so many ornamentals in your area due to being heavily overpopulated? There used to be quite a few acres of woods behind a house where I used to live and the deer would come heavily in the spring to munch on various plants. Then a few years ago they built a golf course and small housing development. After that, the deer came year round and ate plants they never bothered before (including our roses).
What evergreen plants have you noticed deer eating?
The deer ate every leaf off of my new Helleborus in early winter. The also ate Monkshood, Primrose, Smooth Solomon's Seal, Ginseng and Creeping Phlox.......and many of the plants already listed above.l
Secluded.. The deer eat the berries off the foster hollies as high as they can reach, and other than that they don't eat pine, spruce, leland cypress, or any ornamental holly shrubs. Yesterday the devils ate all my primroses too, DiOhio, and I was really disgusted because they never ate them before. I live next to several hundred acres of woods with enough browse for an army of deer but they prefer my shrubs! I have to say that my husband and I love them, and we don't scream at them when they are standing by the back door unless they are in the process of eating some really valuable plant. Right now six are laying five feet from my front door in broad daylight sleeping like cattle!! They are truly beautiful to me, and the fawns are such exquisite little creatures that I just try to tolerate them. I have deer fencing around my formal gardens, my berry beds, and some of my annual gardens, but I am going to try that Liquid Fence on some of my other things. I have used various liquid deer repellants, but they wear off with rain, and it rains here so often, you'd have to stand with the sprayer in your hand to keep ahead of them. At night, they sleep with their back against the stone foundation of our house behind our rhodos. We think the stone must absorb warmth, and they like that plus they feel safe, since even though they eat our stuff we are suckers for them.
LGW...how high is your deer fence and does it effectively keep the deer out? I have been told that deer fence needs to be 8' to keep deer out, but most townships only allow fencing at a maximum of 5' or 6'. I think the deer know you guys secretly love them! If you have any pictures we would love to see your gardens.
I am going to try and attach a picture from within my formal garden. Behind the bench you see a bamboo pole leaning slightly. You cannot see the deer fence that is attached to the pole as it is nearly invisible. I put these bamboo poles in the ground (We grow our own bamboo so I have a lot) about 6 feet apart. The lightweight deer fence is 7 feet tall and I put the poles in so they are six feet out of the ground. I tie the fence on with garden twine three or four times down each bamboo pole. The fence comes in 100 foot long lengths. I also use this around my berries. It has been very effective and although the deer could easily knock it down they don't. I have seen them press their noses against it a few times, but they have not been aggressive. (After me saying this, they will probably ride it down and eat everything I have tonight!). Last year was my first year to use it, and I was very pleased with it. Of course it doesn't look as nice as no fence at all, but at least I have some flowers to bloom!! I have ordered mine from Jung, but you can order it from Gardener's Supply on the internet and it comes quickly. The Walmart near me sells the same thing in 14 X 14 ft lengths, but they don't have the 7 by 100 which is perfect for the perennials. I have to cover the tops of my berry garden also or the birds eat them and it has been great there too. My berry patch is about 15 by 20 feet. I don't think your home association might get excited about this fence as it really is not permanent, and you might take it down in winter. It sounds like a big job, but it's not that bad. I left mine up last winter and all I did was tighten it up this spring , but in PA the snow would probably weigh it down too much.
I'm sorry I don't have a better picture, but it is virtually invisible.
y picture may not be attached as I am hare brained doing that or it may have attached twice??!! Whatever- I hope it goes through.
Your garden is beautiful and your right, the fence is invisible...at least to me. What is the beautiful plant with the blue flowers to the left of the bench? Your fencing sounds like Benner's Deer fence. Is your fencing black or green?
Not trying to be a smart- butt here...
What do the deer NOT eat at my house?
The only thing that they haven't decimated yet are my daffs. Of course having said that, they'll probably eat them next year when they come back up.
They eat every veggie in our garden- corn, beans, peas, tomatoes, squash, okra, cukes, etc... Don't bother growing fruit anymore.
They have snacked on maple, pine, oak, cedar[juniper], pear, redbud, hawthorn, crabapple and mimosa trees.
They love my thorny rose bushes and the only flowers they don't eat are the ones planted right up next to my house. I prob jinxed myself on that one, too.
This message was edited Apr 24, 2005 7:32 PM
Secluded-That blue plant is my all time favorite garden plant. It is a tropical plant called plumbago or leadwort. It can be wintered over in containers in the garage, basement, etc. in Tennessee, but I don't do that anymore. I just keep it until frost kills it, throw it out, and buy more the next year. It looks like that all summer and attracts hummingbirds and lots of butterflies. If you can find it at a nursery in PA, you ought to try it in a container - just for the summer. I guarantee you would love it. My fence is black and is really just a heavy duty net, but it has done well. Thanks for the compliments on my garden- I love to see things grow as do all of us DGers, but some years are better than others. Back to the plumbago-I realized you can't see the pot it is in, but I huge huge plastic pots that hold almost 150 pounds of soil. I mix up my own concoction of soil, so if you find a plumbago, I'll tell you what I use. I plant four big pots of it every year and have for about 8 to 10 years.
berrygirl...it is so discouraging to live with deer. So glad I finally moved to a house with too much traffic for deer!!! Now if I could only afford to purchase plants!!! Maybe next year.
LGW...I have seen Plumbago at our local nurseries, but nothing that large. Not sure if it is the climate or a different species. Can you tell me what genus/species/cultivar you are growing. I wonder if it would do well this far north? If it blooms like that all summer I need to have a few!
Thanks!
Secluded-The botanical name is plumbago auriculata or plumbago capensis. I get mine to grow so large by fertilizing them every time I water with Miracle Gro, adding composted cow manure to the soil, and putting Osmocote on the soil around the plant. That may seem like overkill, but it really makes them grow. If you don't want to spend the money on a big plant, try a little one. I believe they'll do well, but I wouldn't put them outside until the middle of May in your area, and then I'd watch them. They really don't like it to be under 40 degrees. Good luck.
LGW...I am going to try one or two this year. Don't worry about putting it out too early, when I worked at a nursery a few years ago we didn't even get them in until almost June!
