Deer are determined to prune the bottom four feet of my cedars. Is there anything I can do to stop them?
The simplest answer is to not plant cedars. You can get the same effect by planting upright junipers, which require less water and don’t function as deer magnets. While it’s true that they’re slower growing, at least they won’t end up looking like popsicles in ten year’s time.
That having been said, a great deal of deer damage occurs in winter when food options are limited. Many people protect the lower branches of their cedars with a physical barrier, such as a burlap screen, during the winter months. By the time spring rolls around, the deer will be too busy eating your tulips to notice your cedars, so the burlap can come off.
That doesn’t mean that deer damage doesn’t occur in the warmer months. The question is, what to do about it? Some people swear by frequent applications of nasty smelling fish fertilizer. Others swear by judiciously placed rotten eggs. Still others swear by fabric softener sheets discretely suspended from branches. When you have to resort to “swears-by” logic, that’s a pretty good indicator that there’s no definitive solution and experimentation will be required to see what works best for you.
If you have any questions or comments, please send them to me at vanessa@gardenmuse.ca.
