Native Plants
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.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Tuesday - November 04, 2008
From: Mariposa, CA
Region: California
Topic: Deer Resistant, Shrubs
Title: Deer eating creosote bushes (Larrea tridentata)
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
We have Creosote Bushes (Larrea tridentata) that grow wild on out 10 acres. The deer eat those plants all year 'round. Probably more in the dry times of the year. Just wanted to let you know that they are NOT deer proof. Thank you,ANSWER:
Thank you very much for your information. Most of the lists for deer resistant plants emphasize that the plants are "deer resistant", not "deer proof". For example, see the following listings of Larrea tridentata: Camouflage Gardening by Patti Simons from the Native Plant Society of Texas, Deer Resistant Rarely Damaged Shrubs from Deer-departed.com and the Deer Resistant list from Pacific Coast Home and Garden Center. But we do know that deer will eat things they aren't "supposed" to eat. It often depends on the concentration of deer in an area and the availability of preferred food as to whether they will eat plants that have been named "deer resistant". After environmental conditions have forced them to eat plants that they normally avoid, deer sometimes seem to develop a taste for the usually unpalatable species. For instance in my urban neighborhood several years ago when there was a drought and a large population of deer, they ate the normally spurned English ivy (Hedera helix)—not such a bad thing since English ivy is on the Plant Conservation Alliances's Alien Plant Working Group "Least Wanted" list. They ate it down to the bare stems and denuded a lot of lawns. The ivy being the hardy, invasive plant that it is, recovered; but, strangely, they still eat it sometimes even though they don't seem to be particularly stressed for food right now.
From the Image Gallery
More Shrubs Questions
Identification of shrub from Kuala Lumpur
April 24, 2011 - I am seeing too much of shrubs used for landscaping that looks like dill, its stems are pretty woody and its leaves looks and smells like dill, are they the same? Can I consume this shrub that looks l...
view the full question and answer
Sunny and shady lawns from Austin
April 28, 2012 - My front yard has a large bed surrounded by a mix of St. Augustine and Bermuda grass. Last summers heat killed off about 90% of the St. Augustine, which we would like to replace anyway to conserve re...
view the full question and answer
Information about a red-flowered Pavonia lasiopetala in central TX.
September 07, 2010 - I have grown Pavonia for years and just let it re-seed where it wants (and remove if I don't want it where it falls). This year I created a new 6 inch raised bed amended with compost and some manure...
view the full question and answer
Need plants for full sun in Dallas Texas.
May 20, 2009 - What plants are best to use for full sun in Dallas Texas?
view the full question and answer
Problems with native palms in Austin
April 10, 2011 - We had a large variety of California fan palms and blue sabal palms in our yard that were damaged during the last freeze. We found that several of them now have "spear pull," which means we could p...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |