Oh deer! It's only April and deer have already chomped on three hydrangea bushes I just planted last summer. The young shrubs were about two feet tall and the hungry critters devoured the branches clear to the ground. I hope adversity makes hydrangeas stronger and they come back in May.
I checked the University of Minnesota Extension Service, and as expected, hydrangeas are on the list of deer "Generally Preferred Plants." And keep an eye on your sprouting hostas - they love to feast on those, too.
A couple of summers ago, I was checking on the progress of my lilies -also a deer preferred plant - and discovered clumps of empty stems The tender buds were cleanly bitten off like a lollipop by deer - or maybe rabbits. So last year, I took a bar of Irish Spring soap and used a potato peeler to scatter soap shavings around the base of the lilies. It kind of worked - they only chewed off some of the buds. I guess deer only find certain lily varieties tasty.
Deodorant soap is one of the repellents suggested by the U of M Extension Service article "Coping with Deer in Home Landscapes" (http://bit.ly/1rEBNfO.) There are two types of repellents - one applied to the plants, causing them to taste bad. The other type is a repellent placed in the problem area, which keep deer out because of a foul odor. Someone even did a study and tested six different repellents - with Deer Away, an egg-based product, the most effective.
But I like the homemade remedies - like eggs blended with cold water and sprayed on foliage or hanging mesh bags of human hair in the garden. They're organic - and cheaper.
Have deer or rabbits munched on emerging plants in your yard and garden? What repellents have worked for you?
Photos by Hostasdirect.com and Ecologicalwildlifesolutions.com.
