Oh deer!

Yes, those pesky marauders will be foraging in your garden again this  year.  Whenever someone asks me what to do about a nasty deer problem in their landscape, I usually reply with the cryptic "Get an outside dog, a 12-foot fence or a gun."  I know those aren't the easiest solutions for most people, but every type of deer repellent that I've tried works maybe for the first few times and then the four-legged eating machines figure it out and browse away again.  We humans have caused this problem by eliminating all of the deer's natural predators from our regions.  The deer multiply to excess and then can starve from overgrazing and other issues if the herds are not culled.  We have to intervene because of our initial interference; management of deer is absolutely essential.  In my opinion, every kitchen for the homeless should have a bubbling pot of venison stew on the stove and a wide selection of dishes featuring the main ingredient of Canada goose (with multiflora rose hips as a side dish).

How can I propose shooting Bambi's mother, you ask?!  The Nth time they eat your favorite hostas to the ground and then decimate your evergreen screen of arborvitaes you may start to see things my way.  OK, so you're not as mercenary as I am.  What do you do about deer?  There are several good articles on the Learn2Grow site that discuss what to do about preventing deer damage to your landscape - "Fencing: The Ultimate Deer Solution", "Following the Path of Deer Resistance" and "Oh Dear, It's Deer!" 

To avoid putting the cart before the horse (or deer), I would suggest that we take stock of what we are planting in our landscapes and attempt to add (or replace with) plants that the deer don't like to eat.  Notice that I didn't say they would never eat the plants - a hungry deer will eat just about anything rooted in the ground.  But there are some plants that most deer will only eat if they can't find anything else.  For those of us gardeners who live above USDA Hardiness zones 8 or 9, we most often see damage on our evergreen trees and shrubs during the fall and winter seasons when deer are actively foraging on green plants that they find.  The following are some evergreen trees and shrubs that deer will not eagerly put their bibs on for and go to town...

Evergreen Trees & Shrubs:

1) boxwood (Buxus) & cultivars.  I think 'Green Mountain' is touted to be avoided by deer

2) bluebeard (Caryopteris x clandonensis) & cultivars

3) Japanese plum yew (Cephalotaxus harringtonia)

4) false cypress (Chamaecyparis) species & cultivars

5) Japanese cryptomeria (Cryptomeria japonica) & cultivars

6) topal holly (Ilex x attenuata) & cultivars.  Deer sometimes browse on this, sometimes not

7) Eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) & cultivars

8) Chinese juniper (Juniperus chinensis) & cultivars

9) Rocky Mountain juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) & cultivars

10) grape holly (Mahonia) species & cultivars.  My favs being M. aquifolium and M. bealei

11) bayberry (Myrica) species & cultivars

12) spruce (Picea) species & cultivars

13) pine (Pinus) species & cultivars

14) Rhododendron (Carolinianum Group) & cultivars

15) Viburnum x rhytidophylloides & cultivars

Next time we can talk about some deciduous trees and shrubs that deer will avoid munching on.  Good luck!  I bet you're rethinking that outside dog or gun now, aren't you?