Explore Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
Can't find the answer in our existing FAQs, submit a question to Mr. Smarty Plants.
Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.
rate this answer
Thursday - September 10, 2009
From: Stillwater, OK
Region: Southwest
Topic: Deer Resistant
Title: Food for deer and turkey in Oklahoma
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
We recently moved to NE Oklahoma from Texas and have 7 acres, a lot of wild turkeys and wild deer. About 2-3 acres are open, with sun and partial to lots of shade as the rest is heavily wooded. What can I plant in the open areas that deer and turkey like?ANSWER:
It is a pleasure to tell someone about plants that deer like, instead of trying to find plants that deer won't eat! Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service publication, Ecology and Management of Deer in Oklahoma, shows a list of "Some Preferred Native Foods" and Texas Parks and Wildlife has a publication, White-tailed Deer Managment in the Texas Hill Country, that also has a list in Appendix B of favorite deer browse. Here are a few of the suggestions from these lists:Quercus shumardii (Shumard's oak) and other oaks for their acorns.
Celtis laevigata var. reticulata (netleaf hackberry)
Diospyros virginiana (common persimmon)
Cornus drummondii (roughleaf dogwood)
Cornus florida (flowering dogwood)
Rhus aromatica (fragrant sumac) and Rhus lanceolata (prairie sumac), as well as other sumacs.
Prosopis glandulosa (honey mesquite)
As it turns out, wild turkey like much the same food as deer along with the addition of grasses, especiallly in the Panicum sp. and Paspalum sp. Here are are a few species of these particular grasses that occur in Oklahoma:
Panicum capillare (witchgrass)
Panicum hallii (Hall's panicgrass)
Panicum virgatum (switchgrass)
Paspalum floridanum (Florida paspalum)
You can read more about creating and maintaining habitat for turkeys in the publication from the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife, Post Oak Savannah and Blackland Prairie Wildlife Management—Wild Turkey.
More Deer Resistant Questions
Deer resistant groundcover for Tampa, Florida
June 06, 2009 - I live in Tampa, FL and have a deer problem. I was wondering if you would give me some suggestions for deer resistant ground covers that are hearty and flower but most of all "DEER RESISTANT"!!!
...
view the full question and answer
Deer resistant vegetables
April 18, 2009 - Dear Mr. Smarty Plants,
Are there any vegetables that are deer resistant? Squash, Watermelon, Corn, Chilies?
view the full question and answer
Deer-resistant plants for South Carolina
December 09, 2005 - I have purchased a home in SC in an area that is overun with deer. What flowering plants for that area do deer not eat.
view the full question and answer
Need a deer resistant plant that will grow in clay soil in Missouri.
June 22, 2009 - I need a plant or bush that is deer resistant and that will grow in clay soil. Can you help me?
view the full question and answer
Are peonies resistant to javelina and deer predation?
March 11, 2009 - Are peonies resistant to javalina and deer predation in Prescott, AZ
view the full question and answer
 |
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. Mr. Smarty Plants wants you to be his Facebook friend. Click the Facebook icon to add yourself to Mr. Smarty Plants list of friends. |
