|
| Two winters ago our 14' tall juniper had its first five feet chomped on quite severely by the starving deer. This winter we protected it with burlap and that worked. However, there is little growth coming back on the this lower section of the juniper. Is it worth leaving it a few years to see if it can start to look decent again? If not, I want to plant a replacement as soon as possible. If it is worth trying to let it restore itself, do you have any suggestions for a tall perennial or shrub to provide an aesthetic screen for the summer? The juniper is in a south facing garden with native perennials and grasses. The grasses at the back of the garden reach about 5-6 feet. The juniper is off to one side of these grasses.
Any suggestions will be appreciated. |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Sun, Jun 3, 12 at 16:53
| juniper is a conifer.. not a perennial. there is a conifer forum.. and but for myself.. barely any of them come to this forum but dont mind me .. post wherever you want in 5 to 15 years.. the juniper MIGHT fill in and look nice. be done with it ken |
|
- Posted by wonbyherwits z7b NC (My Page) on Sun, Jun 3, 12 at 17:00
| As a person who gardens with deer, my first question is-- are you SURE it's a juniper? The deer would literally have to be starving to eat a juniper. They love to eat arborvitae. If it's an arborvitae, they will continue to eat it, so replace it. If it's a cedar, they may nip again when starving. I cut back my low-growing ground juniper, but not to the extent that you're talking about. It grows back at the rate of 1+ feet per year....but, there are so many kinds of juniper. It is a good idea to ask in the conifer forum about the growth rate of the variety that you have. I'm not a tree expert. Cameron
|
|
- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Sun, Jun 3, 12 at 20:33
| whether or not a CONIFER resprouts from a ravaged trunk/branch .. has little of nothing to do with the fact that it grows 1/5 feet per year.. some do. some dont.. as i said.. how many years is it worth to look at it ..a s it is now ken |
|
| I agree with Cameron...you need to determine exactly what shrub you have. |
|
| They also love Yews, even more than Arborvitae. I have 3 Taxus cuspidata (Japanese Yew) that are growing in tree form - they look lovely and interesting, although it takes decades for a Yew to grow into a tree since they grow very slowly at about 2-3 inches per year. And it's probably not a coincidence that most of foliage starts at just above deer-browsing height. My neighbors have many Yews that are sheared into meatballs or meat loaves or other weird shapes. There have been hit hard by deer browsing during a couple winters, but they filled in again during the growing season. |
|
| Deer have eaten juniper in my garden during the winter. The juniper was under the snow,but, they pawed away until the upper branches were exposed and feasted away. Severe pruning in spring brought them back, but,these are 5 foot spreading plants,not tall uprights. |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Perennials Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.