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| Is there anything I can do to deer-proof roses? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by roseblush1 8a/Sunset 7 (My Page) on Sun, Nov 11, 12 at 14:45
| Not in my experience. You might want to do a search on the GW Forum. There are several threads about this topic. Smiles, |
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| The only thing that I know of that is of any real use is a very good, strong, high fence. There are some repellents but they don't always work and have to be sprayed on constantly. One rain and they're pretty much useless. |
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| These are a reformulation of an existing product. The previous version has been replaced by this (which is not licensed for sale in CA, so I've not used it) but the original worked very well. This might be worth your checking out. It MAY make your life a whole lot easier. Good luck! Kim |
Here is a link that might be useful: Repellex Deer Tabs
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| As Lyn said, this has come up a number of times of the GW forums. In my experience, the best defense is to plant roses deer don't eat, ie, the old gallicas, moss, hybrid perpetuals, rugosas and noisettes. If you are into hybrid teas and floribundas, good luck. |
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| The only roses consistently ignored by deer along the southern California coastal areas have been Banksiaes, Fortuniana and Mermaid. All other types, particularly when they have fresh, succulent new foliage, growth, buds and flowers on them, are deer smorgasbord. Minis and micro minis they seem to ignore because they are lower to the ground and there is often a lot more food more conveniently placed. It has been possible here to sufficiently surround roses with other smelly plants (rosemary, lavenders, santolinas, etc.) to prevent them from venturing into areas, but that requires good blockage on the other sides to prevent them from simply going around. Deer and other herbivores, rely upon their sense of smell as their primary defense mechanism. If you can plant a sufficient barrier of consistently smelly plants to "jam their radar". If they can't smell anything other than rosemary or other smelly plant, they often won't enter the area because they can't tell if you, or some coyote, is waiting for them on the other side. We had a client at the beach whose backyard was sufficiently blocked on three sides, preventing the deer entry. The fourth side had to remain open so the fire department could enter in case of fire and the deer made good use of the long corridor between the house and wall. Once a full length, dense hedge of upright rosemary was planted along the house and along the wall on the other side of the path, the deer refused to enter. Nothing else was done, other than to jam the area full of smelly rosemary, and it worked. Your situation may not permit as easy a 'cure' as that, but increasing the density of other, strong scents in the area can help keep them from browsing as badly. Kim |
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| I'll tell what I jam deer's radar with--pee balls, and they work pretty well. Carefully remove a clumped ball of cat pee/clumping litter from the litter box and place in a worthless old plastic dish. Then the dish can be lodged in a target rose bush's canes. I also wedge big lawn chairs in between large plantings where deer might enter, and put a bowl with pee balls on the seat. I try to be creative with barriers and annoy the deer by making it difficult to enter my back yard. The pee balls do work--and they are free! I have many plantings of lavender, Russian sage, boxwood (which they hate because it smells sort of like cat pee) and other smelly plants. But it's pretty hit or miss with the plants. They mainly form a physical barrier, I think. Aesthetically, pee balls leave a little to be desired, but so do those expensive repellents made out of rotten eggs. Diane |
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| Why shouldn't they work? I've had similar success with that "product" as well as the "gifts" from my dogs washing them down gopher holes, along with every cigarette butt and anything else offensive I could find. You would be surprised what can be used to convince vermin of all types to move on. Kim |
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| That's good--cigarette butts. If only I could find a few. Gone are the days when all you had to do was walk along a road for a few steps, and at your feet would be a treasure trove of cig butts. I can't say I miss them. Diane |
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| There are some other natural methods mentioned in this post. The most effective methods use the deer's natural survival instinct to your advantage. Try Deer Repellent Packs. They contain genuine coyote urine that triggers the Deer's inborn instinct to avoid predators. Deer Repellent Packs contain natural granualized Coyote Urine in a breathable weather resistant pouch. These can be hung right on a Rose Bush for an easy, natural, all weather deer repellent solution. |
Here is a link that might be useful: All Natural Deer Repellent Packs
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| A fence. |
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| For many people, fences aren't an option for a variety of very good reasons. I have an incredible view out back of nearby hills and mountains just behind them. As long as deer pressure remains very moderate and sporadic, I'm not doing anything to further destroy that view--not to mention the large number of plantings I would have to tear out to put in that fence. Diane |
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- Posted by farmerduck NJ (My Page) on Mon, Nov 12, 12 at 15:06
| Thanks to town ordinance, my front yard fence can only go up 6 feet tall. At that height, fences DO NOT work. "My" deer scaled the fence after staying out for months initially and put a very early end to my fall bloom cycles/my rose season. I am intrigued by the product recommended by Kim, the Repellex tablets. Has anyone else tried the new formula or the old one? |
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| One fence may not deter the deer, but TWO fences, spaced five or six feet apart, parallel to one another does. They won't jump things they fear will trip and injure them. Two, six foot fences, parallel to one another, particularly with the inner one nicely planted with climbers so they can't see through it, should do the trick quite nicely. Also doubles your available upright growing area. Kim |
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