Hi all. This is my first year of hellebores. I planted four of them in the shade garden in April of 2006. The deer ate them down to nubbins a few weeks ago. What can I expect in the spring?
This proves that the deer will eat anything when hungry. I was sure I read that hellebores are poisonous.
Thanks. I eagerly await your replies.
Deer ate the hellebores down to nearly nothing
They are, but one creature's poison is another's salad, apparently. Helleborus does appear on many lists of deer-resistant plants. hhmmm...
muddbear - my hostas and sedum have been munched on, and it's my experience that unless the roots are very immature, the plant will recover and grow back in the spring. There's no guarantee the deer won't be waiting, fork in hand, bib tied under chin, to dine on them!
In my four years of deer resistance studies, the deer have only munched the orientalis once and they haven't touched the foetidus. Eating hellebores is indeed rare.
BUT...there have been other poisoness plants that they have eaten...and probably died. A case in point is when a young buck munched half a plant of aconitum (monkshood). The toxic dose is estimated at a few leaves.
My suggestion is to spray the plant with Liquid Fence or Deer Off. This will train the deer that this plant tastes bad. I like to do this for every new plant in the garden. I spray a few times when they first go in (this is to deter the does in the Spring) and then the Fall a few times (this is deter the buck who come and invade for the first time in the Fall). It helps, but Rogue deer are difficult. They basically don't follow the rules.
Best of luck, ROX
With good root stock the hellebores will recover, but since they tend to have winter/early spring growth it is important to deter the deer now.
Rox - Do you have to spray the plants every time it rains or snows? This is the first year that I have had to deal with them, they usually stay in the forest way down the street (a few blocks), but since I started to plant in my front yard as well as in the fenced off backyard, they decided to check it out, I guess LOL.
You shouldn't have to spray every time. They both contain an ingredient that helps the formula not wash off in moderate rain.
I usually spray once a week for three weeks each time.
ROX
Thanks, I'll have to check it out.
Thanks everyone. The deer are so plentiful here in Northern Wisconsin and we did have a mid-October cold snap. I forgot that I need to spray Liquid Fence even after the hard frost. The hellebores were only one of many that suffered. The deer ripped the echinacea right out of the ground, ate the sedum, columbine, and many of my ground cover plants.
I just asked about the helleborus because there is nothing left but a stick!
Since you planted them in April, and most perennials are dying down now, anyways, I expect your hellebores will be fine. I know in the north they stay semi-evergreen, but still put out their major growth here in the spring. In spring I trim away all the old leaves anyway, as they get ratty looking, and let the new ones grow up. I think you're fine.
One other element you might want to add to your arsenal of deer repellants is the combination of Milorganite and blood meal. I mix them together and then fertilize the lawn with it. Both elements are high in nitrogen so it's best to not put it directly on the plants nor would I recommend it for a fall application since it might push out new growth that wouldn't harden off before frost.
The combination of the two ferts laid down in large quanitites keeps the deer at bay for a while. I work on an estate that has a rather large tulip and daffodil display that we open to the public and the deer don't come around even when there's a smorgasbord of treats for them to gobble up.
As with most deterants, they only deter. Those blasted wood goats will go after anything if they get hungry enough. Really, venison is the only answer.
Ahh backstrap marinated in butter, garlic and onions, mmmm.
Any cut, in the crockpot with Liptons Onion soupmix and cut onion, potato and carrots and simmered till it falls apart. Of all the great things I make, my son says this is his favorite meal.