Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
heckabore

Deer Are Eating Nearly Everything This Year

Debbie
12 years ago

Just discovered that the local wildlife has feasted on the bottom branches of my Carpenteria californica and is starting on my correa and maybe even the newest tips of the arctostaphylos. Yikes. Is nothing safe? Do I have to plant a yard full of holly and other spiky plants to discourage them?

Comments (10)

  • hosenemesis
    12 years ago

    Can you throw some alfalfa out into the middle of the street? :)

    They don't like irises. If you are near the coast, you can plant Pacific Coast Native Irises.

  • Debbie
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    I'm inland (Contra Costa County)--I tried some irises but they died immediately. Maybe I got poorly grown plants to begin with because there wasn't enough time for me to kill them. The deer are leaving my hellebore and ornamental grasses alone, but I need some things that are bigger. So tired of oleander!

  • hoovb zone 9 sunset 23
    12 years ago

    Just a thought, but start searching on "deer resistant" and see what you can find and what you like. Also take "deer resistant" with a grain of salt, if Bambi is hungry enough he will eat anything.

    Here is a link that might be useful: deer resistant, one search

  • bahia
    12 years ago

    Over the short term you can try using deer repellent that you spray on the plants to protect them. I'd suggest looking at the sunset western garden book 4 their list of deer repellent plants. You actually have a lot more choices besides oleander. I've been surprised that this year deer locally haven't been as much of a problem, but raccoons have been.

  • gobluedjm 9/18 CA
    12 years ago

    There is a product in pet food stores and some better nurseries called Bitter End or Bitter Apple.
    One chomp they should spit it out and move on.

  • Debbie
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    I think that all the plants in my front yard are listed as deer-resistant by either Sunset or EBMUD or both. I guess they are labeled "deer-resistant" instead of "ignored by deer," because they are meals of last resort. The only plants I have found to be truly safe are ornamental grasses (which my dog liked to munch on), leptospermum, and hellebore.

  • bahia
    12 years ago

    I've never had problems with deer eating quite a few more plants than you list, such as coleonema, choisya, lavender, pungent salvias spp's such as s. leucantha and s. clevelandii, phormiums, astelias, dianellas, rosemary, really almost anything with pungent foliage, fuzzy/furry foliage. Also immune are things like tulbaghia, Iris spp's, neomarica, chasmanthe, wachendorfia, ceratostigma, cannas and plenty of other things. You might also consider things like angels trumpet and bamboos, and pink naked ladies. This should be enough choices to give you a wide range of things to grow and represents plants that have always worked for me when dealing with pesky dear.

  • elvie z9CA
    12 years ago

    Do deer eat succulents?

  • bahia
    12 years ago

    Yes deer do eat some succulents,, others no. I've had them munch on graptoveria Fred ives, aeoniums, some echeverias, some aloe flowers. They do leave poisonous ones alone, such as cotyledons and euphorbias, and seem to have no taste for graptopetalum paraguyense and most aloe foliage.

  • caavonldy
    12 years ago

    I have one deer in our neighborhood that is jumping our fence and eating the tomatoes. Before we put up the fence a couple years ago, we had a whole herd that just destroyed everything in the garden, now I think it's just the one.