Deer and Tulips
This is my busiest time of year for design and web store sales, so I’m often frustrated that I can’t get outside more often to work in and enjoy our own gardens.
The bulbs below are a surprisingly compatible mix of colors. Our local deer herd did not bother this bed last spring, but this year, when the tulips were just a few inches tall, I found them one morning nibbled to about one inch. I placed 18 deer repellent sticks throughout the bed, and had no further problems.
Even a quick ramble around the yard daily can be extremely important! My lack of attention could have resulted in no bloom and perhaps irreparable damage to the plants.
We need to teach our deer herd about “deer resistant” plants…they nibbled on the daffodils also!
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September 9th, 2006 at 7:15 pm
I like your website and thanks again for the pond ebook. I have a recommendation for your deer problem. In our area, I have many clients with the same problems regarding deer foraging in their landscapes. I heard Milorganite could work as a very effective deer repellent. Upon hearing that, the next day one of my customers came in and asked for four bags of it and I asked him what he was using it for and he explained he was fertilizing his shrubs and I asked if he had had any problems with deer and how long he had been fertilizing the shrubs with it, he said no problems with deer and that he had been using the fertilizer for about 20 years or so. I then asked him what kind of shrubs he was fertilizing and he told me ‘arborvitae’. I was impressed. From then on I sold Milorganite as a deer repellent. I even had another lady customer plant a tulip in the middle of her lawn and the deer completely avoided the plant. I ended up calling the Milorganite company and the rep said yes it does have a deer repellent effect and he sent me the test trials from Cornell University which tested taxus, hosta, and tulip and proved Milorganite’s effectiveness. I recommend to my customers that they spread it in their flower beds and among their desirable shrubs and to about 4 or 5 feet out into the lawn area. While Milorganite says you can use it in your vegetable garden, I don’t and won’t recommend where edible plants are growing. I thought our snows were bad…Thanks again for the info.