Hello, all you from Hillsdale who found your way to this post. Remember, we are learning how to THINK defensively about deer. It, of course, goes beyond plants—-and our own plants at that.
The enormity of this issue boggles one. We talk in the millions of animals of numerous species displaced, the acres of land denuded; the crops suffering from deer damage changes whole cycles of plant growth—-and income deposits.
You have voiced your awareness of sources: changes in agriculture over time, hunting reduced as an activity, urbanization of our land, reduction, even extinction of predators, extinction of plants that were food for many species besides deer (birds, smaller animals) ---you are tackling a small but very important part of the problem: your co-existence with these animals.
---but for now we are dealing with Deer and Native Plants as Resistance
My deer, here, looking towards the buck walking in a stately manner up my street, my front yard with pachysandra is appealing to these two, mother (with limp) and fawn . They are most likely escaping the construction gong on in their habitat, near the Turnpike. Note it is daylight (in fact, Oct. 3 last year, late afternoon.) They were seen in this area for a long time. This year's herds are dispersed across several neighborhoods, there are many more. SENSORY DATA DETERMINES DIET
A note on color: recent investigations into the vision color range of the deer indicates its color vision is strongest in the blue range, weakest or non existent in the red range. The animal s sensistive to yellow, but to other color more. Stay tuned as I track yet more evidence on this.
Tactile fuzzy, sharp, sticky, skinny, like sedge grass, Echinacea. This latter species illustrates a key point here: the Echinacea is eaten sometimes, but not at other times. Te seed heads with projecting sharp individual seeds do not develop until late summer. This, like others, shows you to look at the whole season with the plant.
Taste Bitter (wormwood, red acorns, but they will eat in winter) Black
Cohosh, specific acorns, but when hungry these distinctions may fly out the window.
Texture fuzzy, thorny (may be some plants like echinacea, are defensive
when they grown spikey seedheads: Monarda, Jimsonweed.
Aroma--strong: Mountain Mint, Black Cohosh, many European herb plants (Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, particularly the last two). Mint of all kinds helps---if you could, I would urge Mentha X smithiana, AKA Red Mint, my favorite, but it grows everywhere else in the world except the US ( except in a park near Santa Barbara. Seen in State maps of plant growth.)There are over 600 mints left-try some!
POISON: NOT POISON TO DEER: POISON IVY
Poisonous to deer: Monkshood, Jimson weed, Daffodil
LISTS OF DEER-RESISTANT PLANTS
LISTS OF DEER-RESISTANT PLANTS
Use the lists below to assemble your own garden for deer avoidance You may prefer texture over aroma, even poison (Datura, Daffodils)) can be tried with awareness.
Each list has its strengths and weaknesses; they tend to (except for . Why, l do not know. Chalk up hat up to each species is different.
Each list has its strengths and weaknesses; they tend to (except for . Why, l do not know. Chalk up hat up to each species is different.
Lady Bird's list combine natives and non natives. You will find overlap, as you would expect, but also note the contradictions in evaluations of plants. Note the trees, bushes and vines: these may be good recommendations for edge of the forest preemptive planting.
I recommend the Rutgers list as the most comprehensive and the Lady Bird one to challenge you to plant native with wildflowers. Use the Bowman's Hill one, distributed, for local lant types. And don't forget to scan the info sheet on Black Cohosh for early spring buying.
You can. Right now, get live Black Cohosh roots from Strictly Medicinal seeds. I am buying six with the hope of over wintering and emerging next spring.
Cornell http://warren.cce.cornell.edu/gardening-landscape/deer-resistant-plants
Audubon https://mercury.postlight.com/amp?url=http://ct.audubon.org/15-great-deer-resistant-native-plants
Lady Bird Johnson Wild flower
Center: Deer resistant collection.
Hunting: https://www.qdma.com/know-native-deer-foods/
Quality Deer Management Assn. What do deer like to eat?
Cimifuga information from Nursery www.ecbrownsnursery.biz/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.printDetail/plant_id/1163/index.htm
