[CH] OT: Deer Resistance - x/p to DePepperMan
radiorlg@att.net
Fri, 07 Jul 2000 13:51:23 +0000
Just found this information on deer resistance from
Martha Stewart's site of all places. I know how
everyone feels about Martha (and I feel the same
way most of the time) but I thought I would pass it on:
With more than 15 million deer in the United States, it’s
hardly a surprise that our gardens fall prey to their
grazing. Ken Twombly has lots of experience with deer at
his nursery in Monroe, Connecticut. And he’s found that
although few plants are entirely deer proof, some plants,
such as oriental poppies, forget-me-nots, peonies,
primroses, boxwood, salvia, and ferns, are more resistant
than others.
Deer will eat almost anything when they’re hungry; they
especially love new growth. To protect your garden beds,
consider using plants that act as natural barriers. Try
edging a bed with low-growing, deer-resistant plants,
such as Heuchera or Pulmonaria. Deer will browse the
edging plant, be repelled, and move on.
PLANT LIST
DEER RESISTANT PLANTS
Euphorbia dulcis ‘Chameleon’
E. cyparissais ‘Fen’s Ruby’
Salvia nemorosa ‘Blue Hill’
Spirea nipponica
Boxwood, Buxus sempervirens
Heuchera ‘Regal Robe’
Lungwort, Pulmonaria longifolia
Japanese Painted Fern, Athyrium nipponicum var pictum
Pieris japonica ‘Valley Valentine’
It isn’t much of a problem for people living in heavily
populated, urban areas, but for those in the country and
the suburbs, deer can become a bane to the garden when
they trample and eat your foliage. People have developed
a number of tricks to deal with this difficulty—some of
them effective, others that don’t work at all. Ken
Twombly, owner of Twombly’s Nursery in Monroe,
Connecticut, has a good deal of experience cordoning
gardens from the reach of deer. Today, he shares some of
his strategies and dispels a few myths.
Deer, are creatures of habit, always approaching the same
locations at the same times. The trick to confounding
them is convincing the deer that each trip to your garden
will be a waste of their efforts, that they will
encounter the same deterrents with every visit. A fence
is a good start, but deer have been known to jump over
twelve-foot fences. However, a five-foot fence will act
as a barrier simply because the deer can’t see what’s on
the other side. If you choose to use a mesh fence, make
sure it’s about seven-and-a-half feet tall, and check
frequently for holes.
Tapes of barking dogs, pie tins, and bags filled with
human hair are sometimes thought to work, but in
reality, they are unsightly, noisy, and minimally
effective.
On the other hand, sprays such as Tree Guard are very
effective. Tree Guard was originally developed as a
dental anesthetic but had an exceptionally bitter
aftertaste, which is what makes it a hindrance to deer.
There are, however, two downsides: You must be
diligent in applying sprays, and many leave a whitish
residue on the leaves (but this is better than having no
foliage at all, says Ken). Apply it once in the fall and
again in the spring. Another idea is to hang small
hotel-size bars of soap out of sight on the inner
branches of a shrub or tree. The deer are repelled by the
oil, which has kept them away>
I hope this helps out the folks, like me, who have to
deal with deer eating their plants.
RisaG