What plants will deer not eat?
What outdoor plants will DEER not eat?
- Anise Hyssop attracts hummingbirds and repels deer with its mint-scented foliage.
- Safe from nibbling voles, moles, and gophers, Autumn Crocus is a fine choice for the bulb garden!
- Blue Mist Shrub (Caryopteris) adds rare blue color to the garden!
Do deer eat edamame?
Speaking of deer, since we covered the edamame with a plastic mesh we eliminated the deer-eating-our-edamame-plants problem (is there nothing these creatures won’t eat?) but that didn’t eliminated the Japanese-beetles-eating-our-edamame-plants problem.
Do deer eat Datura?
Will deer eat Datura? The genus Datura includes several species of herbaceous perennials hardy to U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 9 and 10. These attractive, but poisonous, plants are prized for their spreading trumpet-shaped blooms that give off a pleasant fragrance. Deer typically avoid datura plants.
Do deer eat Sedum?
Since sedum grows until winter, and food for deer becomes scarce during the winter, if there is nothing else to eat, the deer will snack on a sedum plant. While deer prefer to eat hostas, daylilies, and plants that have been well fertilized, a couple of other animals like sedum. Squirrels have been known to eat the new shoots of sedum.
Do Deer Eat Rhododendron
The regional deer do not like most rhododendrons that we have here, although they do like azaleas and evergreen azaleas, in specific, are comparable to deer sweets or candies for them. This does not mean deer do not eat rhododendron. In fact, if they are hungry enough they will eat anything.
Tips to Keep Deer out of your Garden
I’ve seen several methods that other regional garden enthusiasts utilize to motivate the deer to move along. Two of my neighbors’ use movement-triggered sprinklers near their most valuable hydrangeas (deer-like hydrangeas!).
1. Deer love the taste of Rhododendron
Deer love to eat the sweet, tender leaves of Rhododendron plants. They find the flavor to be quite enjoyable, and so they will seek out these plants whenever they can.
2. Rhododendron is a nutritious food source
Rhododendron is a very nutrient-rich plant. It contains high levels of essential vitamins and minerals, which make it an excellent food source for deer.
3. Rhododendron is easy to digest
Rhododendron leaves are very easy to digest, which is why deer love to eat them. This also means that the deer can get more nutrients from consuming them than from eating other types of plants.
4. Rhododendron contains a few tannins
Tannins are chemical compounds that make leaves taste bitter to humans and deer alike. Deer can easily digest the small amounts of tannin in rhododendrons.
5. Rhododendron leaves have low levels of calcium oxalate crystals
Calcium oxalate crystals are needle-like chemical compounds found in many types of plants, including azaleas and rhododendrons. Ingesting too much can cause an upset stomach in both humans and animals alike.
6. Deers love the smell of Rhododendron
Rhododendrons have a very strong, sweet smell that deer find irresistible. They will often consume these plants just for the pleasure of the smell alone.
7. Rhododendron is a plentiful plant
Rhododendron is a very common plant and can be found growing in many different environments. This makes it an easy food source for deer to access, especially during times when other types of food are scarce.
How To Keep Deer From Eating Rhododendrons
Prevention is the best way to stop deer from eating your rhododendrons. Once they have found a food source, they will keep returning to it.
Will Deer Eat Azaleas?
Evergreen azaleas are a favorite food item for deer. They will eat any variety of azalea.
Are Rhododendrons Toxic to Deer?
Yes, rhododendrons are toxic to deer. However, the animals typically don’t eat enough in one feeding to cause symptoms.
Will Rhododendron Grow Back After Deer Eat Them?
Rhododendrons are capable of growing back after being eaten by deer. The growth rate will depend on how healthy the plant is and how much of the plant was eaten by deer.
Related Questions
The best deer-resistant flowering shrubs are butterfly bush, swamp rose, and Russian sage. Some other beautiful options are Japanese pieris, mountain laurel, eastern red cedar, Chinese juniper, and spirea .
Conclusion
While rhododendrons can be a target for deer, there are plenty of strategies to protect your plants, some more effective than others.
What are the plants that deer eat?
A Pennsylvania Game Commission study of the stomachs of road-killed deer found 98 plant species, including trees, shrubs, leafy plants and garden vegetables. And rhododendrons. If you have rhododendrons in your garden, and deer in the neighborhood, you probably also have a 5-foot browse line, ...
How long does the egg mixture stay on rhododendrons?
Doppel says the sticker-spreader keeps the egg mixture on his rhododendrons and other garden plants for a month or two. "It really works," he says. "The place really looks good this year," better than his neighbor's plants, which had no protection against the area's 25 or so deer.
How tall is a plastic fence for rhododendrons?
Bob Stamper of Upper Milford Township, Pa., groups his rhododendrons and puts small plastic fences, 3 to 5 feet tall, around them. "If it's put around plants closely, the deer won't jump into it," he says. He's also fencing sections of his property to interrupt the deer's browsing paths.
Where is Tom Ahern's rhododendron?
Tom Ahern, who grows hundreds of rhododendrons near the top of South Mountain in Fountain Hill, Pa., each winter surrounds his prize plants with about 400 feet of 4-foot-high snow fence. A rhododendron hybridizer, his goal is to create a rhododendron with orange or yellow blossoms that is hardy enough to survive tough winters.
Do deer like rhododendrons?
If you have rhododendrons in your garden, and deer in the neighborhood, you probably also have a 5-foot browse line, with green leaves above and brown branches below. Deer love rhododendrons, especially in winter.
Do deer like putrescent egg solids?
Eggs, specifically putrescent egg solids, have long been non-toxic ingredients in deer repellents. The deer don't like the rotten egg smell. Some repellent sprays also include garlic or hot pepper, but Doppel feels these aren't necessary.
Rhododendron deer damage
Hi. We just discovered that one of our rhododendrons has been severely damaged by a wandering deer (we found the tracks in the snow). About 75% of this young plant's leaves and leaf stems were eaten. The plant was bought from a nursery two years ago, and it was not large yet. It had not yet produced blooms.
Comments (12)
Damaged rhodies will resprout from those dormant leaf buds lower down the branches, not just from the ends, because the deer ate the branch ends, as long as the plant had enough root system to not die. Your plant may end up bushier after the deer pruning if it survives.