Deer or porcupine?

huh? not "90% shorter please for a call back interview television commercial?" say what Jack?

Dax

Pinus koraiensis 'Avo-carved-upa'.

The branches look broken off instead of gnawed off.
It's a deer rub.

Is that velvet or bark or a leaf piece dangling on the left side of the trunk opposite the top broken branch?

tj

That would be bark my man.

Those deer are sneaky. This tree and I presume all Korean pines are magnets for them. This isn't the first time.

Dax

'The Buck Stops Here'....He may not be so generous on the next visit!

Johnny

JW kicken' it to a new beat. It would take about 25 bullets from a .22 + I ain't in da huntin' business.

Dax

Buck rubbing. Best protect the tree with a cage to prevent further damage - once it's started, it'll go on using it until it has completely stripped off all the bark at that height and killed the tree.

Resin

Wait a minute... a deer ATE that thing?? What kind of mutant deer do you have out there?? Mine always just "delicately nibble" on my hostas and such. But then again I didn't have any conifers until now... Great. Now I'm worried...

Mary

Its buck rub and I'm surprised it did that to that plant. Typically they won't go for plants with branching at that level.

Too bad, I really liked that plant. Hopefully it will fill in at some point.

This is probably the worst damage I've had. To Resin's point they come back. When I was unfamiliar with what was going on the buck came back and stripped it clean.

{{gwi:348467}}

You've got to admire their persistence!

I'm still awaiting the day I go up to the plantation and find my favorite spruce or larch all messed up. I know it's going to happen.

+oM

Time to install an electrical wire fence ! Good luck! T.

Here is a link that might be useful: protect your conifers

I equated "haircut" with rubbing. I guess I didn't make that clear. 2nd time on this tree, only different years.

I'm not caging that in. It'd take 4 meters or more of fence. If anything I'll do a tinkle number around it..after my morning dose of coffee.

Dax

Nevertheless, it looks quite beautiful still.

Fotis

Yeah...

Dax

As the saying goes, "Revenge is a dish best served cold." In this case that would be Venison.

Oops - rubbing. Sorry! Got it! Makes much more sense to me now! :) It's pretty rare that I see a buck in my neighborhood so hopefully I'm safe! (or the odds are low at least)

LOL! Does that really work, Dax? Would dog pee work the same?

Mary

Sure it would help. It says, this is my part and on the other side is yours, lol. Dog pee, of course.

Shavings of Irish Spring soap around your trees watered in also works.

Dax

I thought those where wives tales mainly because it doesn't deter them from eating but to be more cautious while eating.

A physical barrier or an actual liquid application (like plantskydd) on the plant itself are the only things that can work. Of course removal of the animal(s) works as well.

A dog barely works during harsh winters. Again they are just cautious.

We've had good success with hanging Irish Spring soap in our trees. We cut a bar of soap in thirds, wrap it in netting, and hang on a wire. We first tried the shavings, but the scent was covered by the first snowfall. Hanging in the trees allows the scent to be more easily carried around the yard in the air. We hang a chunk of soap in nearly every tree that is large enough for a buck to rub, and this has worked well for us for the past 3 years or so. We hang fresh soap every fall and it lasts all winter.

You're right Kim.

For the nursery owner or (me) with 400+ trees and shrubs, that's quite an expense. So, repeat apps of whittling Irish Spring is the way to go.

Dax

Better buy some stock in Irish Spring!

I was referring to eating and browsing but sounds like a good trick for buck rub. Eitherway I use those white plastic spirals for all my young thin barked trees that aren't branched low. Soap is fricking expensive enough for my household.

Dax, glad the damage wasn't any worse. I seem to lose a tree or two a year (or have them SEVERELY damaged) to buck rub. From my experience, their antics start up towards the end of August and die down once winter sets in.

The only solution I've found is fencing of some sort, either a metal chicken wire circle around a tree or some plastic netting or some mesh netting wrapping the 'eye level' of the plant for the deer.

Just the other day I discovered a 2 foot tall mound of Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Aurea' shredded to pieces, so even stuff in more of a shrub form (no discernible leader) can be targets, and even stuff close to the ground. Generally, though, the deer tend to seek out plants that look like a tall stick in the ground without a lot of branches (think Nootka 'Green Arrow' or a young Metasequoia).

Steg

I had a bull elk take out a species Cryptomeria that was over 7 meters tall. He thrashed it 4 meters high and I eventually had to saw it down. I didn't see the elk, but I did see his footprints. At first I thought my neighbor's cows escaped.
I'm dealing with a bear now. It's raising havoc with my other neighbor's bee hives. That, and I've seen a bobcat twice in the last few weeks. Another neighbor down the road had to put an electric fence on top of his regular fence to keep the cougars from his alpacas. He has over a hundred.
It's a jungle out there!
Mike

Here is a link that might be useful: Jurassic Park

Mike, you're garden is pure paradise! It's no wonder all God's creatures want to live there.