Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Your gift keeps resources like this database thriving!

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

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.

Search Smarty Plants
See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

 
rate this answer
2 ratings

Monday - April 20, 2015

From: Lake Gaston NC, NC
Region: Southeast
Topic: Non-Natives, Deer Resistant, Shrubs
Title: Deer Resistant Roses and Fruit Trees in NC
Answered by: Anne Van Nest

QUESTION:

Hello, I am planning a house on Lake Gaston in North Carolina (to be built) and will need to establish a new garden on the cleared lot. I would like to focus on native plants, but I love a cutting garden including cutting roses and like to have them in the house - will the deer eat them? I only have gardening experience in NJ. Any advice on planning an entire garden from scratch in an unfamiliar zone (Lake Gaston is USDA 7a). I'd also like to grow some fruit trees organically - sweet cherry. Can this be done? Thank you, perplexed in NJ.

ANSWER:

Well, the Witherspoon Rose Gardens in Durham, NC have a web page about how to deter deer from eating roses. They say that deer love roses! They have many suggestions for you to consider.

The NC Cooperative Extension has a factsheet on Producing Tree Fruit for Home Use that suggests that sweet cherries might be a challenge in NC. "Cherry trees can grow in certain areas where the climate is favorable, but they must be carefully managed and usually do not bear fruit consistently." Perhaps an alternative fruiting tree? They suggest that pecans, figs and persimmons are easier to grow.

 

 

From the Image Gallery


Carolina rose
Rosa carolina

Carolina rose
Rosa carolina

Swamp rose
Rosa palustris

Swamp rose
Rosa palustris

Climbing prairie rose
Rosa setigera

Climbing prairie rose
Rosa setigera

Virginia rose
Rosa virginiana

Swamp rose
Rosa palustris

Climbing prairie rose
Rosa setigera

Climbing prairie rose
Rosa setigera

Climbing prairie rose
Rosa setigera

More Shrubs Questions

Identifcation of strange orange growth on shrubs
May 04, 2009 - I have found a strange orange ball shape with softer spikes about 1-2 in. growing from it on my shrubs, they grow around the branch. I believe they are Yews. I have never seen them before but now ther...
view the full question and answer

Plants for streambank area in Oregon
September 14, 2012 - I am ready to replant a streambank area with native plants..what do you recommend for the Willamette Valley in Oregon? Thanks much!
view the full question and answer

Planting shrubs and flowers under pine trees in New York
July 15, 2008 - We just started to plant flowers and the whole back side of our yard is pine trees. I was wondering what types of flowers can be planted under them, and what kind of plants or shrubs can be planted un...
view the full question and answer

Bugs eating new growth on Mountain Laurel shrubs from Dripping Springs TX
April 02, 2013 - What is eating the new growth on my mountain laurel shrubs? One plant has red bugs and the other has black (could they be love bugs?). Is there something I can do to preserve the new growth?
view the full question and answer

Dogwoods Late in Blooming
May 14, 2015 - We are seeing no evidence of flowers on two dogwoods this year. One usually is in bloom now, the other later on in the spring.
view the full question and answer

Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today.