Deer Central in Central Texas
By Bob Fitzsimmons
Do you ever get the feeling that you can’t win when it come to gardening in Central Texas? If it’s not the harsh soils, lack of water and heat – it’s the deer, browsing at the salad bar you’ve laid out for them in your landscape. It’s frustrating – and expensive – when you try to dress up your little corner of the earth and the next day, all the leaves and blooms are gone.
Why do your neighbors seem to have healthy shrubs and blooming plants and you never hear them complain about the deer?
Let’s take a look at a few tips that will help your yard become the envy of your neighborhood, even if you live in “Deer Central.”
I love the deer that come into my neighborhood. They have the freedom to come and go just like they always have. Normally, a standard 3-foot chain link fence doesn’t do much to discourage the deer. But I have visual barriers that keep the deer from seeing the feast on the other side. This visual barrier keeps the deer from jumping into my yard.
Other plants in my open areas are unprotected, and by process of elimination, as “deer resistant.” (No one I know will use the words, “deer PROOF.” Deer will even eat bark during bad times.) The open beds contain Lantana, Salvia, herbs, Texas sage, yucca, and clump grasses. Most of these have a strong aroma that is pleasurable to you and me – but not to the deer.
The basic idea is to create a “smell barrier” throughout your landscape. Deer browse around to see what they can find each day, and they remember when plants smell and taste bad. A large rosemary in a certain area will cause adjacent plants smell like that herb. Mexican oregano is another highly aromatic plant that acts as a smell barrier.
There are commercial products that discourage deer. Most create foul odors with ingredients like eggs, garlic, and blood meal. Some of these work for a short time but need to be reapplied. I don’t have much faith in these products.
Other methods that seem to keep the deer at bay:
- Hang bars of deodorant soap (especially Dial) around the yard
- Allow the dog to sleep outside
- Hang dog or human hair in mesh bags
- Set up a motion sensor with bright lights that rotate
- Drape deer netting
There was a time when I wouldn’t even think about using wire cages around my trees and plants, but after losing one too many special specimens, I changed my standards. Now I recommend (and use) a 4-foot-high fencing around new, single trees and shrubs. Keep the tree or shrub fenced in until it has hardened off and tree limbs are above browsing level. It might take two to three seasons to raise the branches above the danger line.
Wire cages also keep deer from using tender, young trunks as rubbing posts for removing velvet on their antlers. Protective wire right up to the trunk is sometimes necessary to discourage deer from damaging the tree bark.
Even native plants need time to harden off before they are deer-resistant. Deer pull up new plants for a taste test, so remember to check newly-installed native plants as well as the obvious “deer candy.” With deer browsing every night, I’ve learned the hard way which plants are “deer candy.”
Deer candy: roses, hibiscus, Rose of Sharon, most bedding plants and annuals.
Deer resistant:
- Herbs - rosemary, oregano, sage, Santolina
- Bedding plants – periwinkle, zinnias
- Shrubs – Yaupon holly, Nandina, Eleagnus, barberry, Texas sage, palms
More detailed lists are available at most local garden centers and the Comal County Extension Office.
Look at older, established landscapes and take notice of deer-resistant plants for your area. Finally, deer don’t read plant lists, so don’t be surprised if they make me a liar!
Happy gardening!
