Deer have eaten my roses, camellias, columbine, lilies, and even the buds off of dormant oakleaf hydrangea and azaleas. But my star magnolia is blooming without fear, and the leaves have never been browsed during the year either.

But I'm so pessimistic with deer that I'm sure they'll eat it at some point....but it's well worth it! A gorgeous tree that should be in everyone's garden!

I also had antler damage on a magnolia, but deer usually prefer plants with leaves in the winter. My evergreen dogwood has been nibbled so much it appears to have been limbed up by a person! They have left the magnolias alone when they have leaves in the summer as there are other "treats" available.

Back when I worked for the state parks dept (in another state) we had a small park that didn't allow hunting. The deer population got way out of control and they pretty much limbed up an entire forest! It was a sight to see, not a branch in sight below 6 feet and no understory, no bushes, no ground covers, no wildflowers.

that's the way it is in parts of PA where the deer population is out of control. Sad, really.

Dear rlkarper,
If you decide to plant a star magnolia, be sure to select the cultivar _Magnolia stellata_ 'Royal Star' because it blooms considerably later than unnamed cultivars and, thus, as a general rule, escapes frost damage. In SC, 'Royal Star' blooms about two weeks later than generic star magnolias--toward the end of March, when its special beauty is still appreciated.

I certainly agree with the other posters' comments about deer. They're terribly destructive to many ornamental plants in our yard. Not so long ago, a buck stood within a yard of the bedroom window, pawing the ground and snorting in a rude and annoying way. He is probably the one that devoured every leaf of at least four or five recently planted camellias.