Deer

My wife and I have a lot of experience with deer depredations and issues with birds and wildlife causing problems with landscaping. About 15 years ago we removed all of the ivy, Himalayan blackberry, and Algerian ivy that made up the understory of our backyard, and replaced it all with native plants.

DEER:

All native plants are to some extent deer resistant, or they would have gone extinct a long time ago, but we quickly discovered that "deer resistant" doesn't go as far as one might hope. The main lesson is that you have to keep deer away from your new plants for at least two years. Three is better. In our case that meant putting deer fence around our entire yard and leaving it there for a couple of years. We started with lightweight plastic mesh fencing sold as "deer fence" at a local hardware store, but it was pretty much useless; determined deer could simply push on it until it tore, and it turns out our deer were determined. So we switched to a thicker plastic, also sold as deer fence, and it works quite well. The top of the fence should be at least six feet off the ground, and you have to stake the bottom too so the deer can't nose under it. I use a mix of steel stakes with a metal plate on the bottom (more expensive) and plastic ones that are much lighter, cheaper, and easier to work with but a lot less stable, usually alternating between these. I use plastic cable ties to attach the fence to the stake. Buy a lot more cable ties than you need. You can start by putting up the steel posts pretty far apart, then go back later and add plastic ones in between as needed. The fencing is kind of a pain to work with, it's always getting snagged on overhead branches or trying to roll up on itself in odd ways as you struggle to unroll it, and it can scratch up your arms pretty good, too. Just be patient, and you will find little hard-to-desribe tricks so that it gradually gets easier.

The main message, though, is that even if you plant deer-resistant plants, you do need to keep the deer out for a couple of years. Most of the plants are not appealing to adult deer, but the young ones haven't yet figured out what is or isn't good and they will sample everything. Once the plant is a few years old it can tolerate that, but if the plant is new then one sample can be enough to kill it.

Good luck.

Phil Price and Juliet Lamont

See also - Deer Resistant Garden Strategies