Providing
garden
solutions.
in this issue
SANDHILLS
AND
COASTAL
PLAIN
NEWS
Perennials for
Dry Shade
Growing
Vegetables in
Limited Space
Pecan Weevils
Proper Mowing
STATE
NEWS
Deer- Resistant
Plants
'Fireball' Hibiscus
Malabar Spinach
Drip Irrigation
Plant Disease and
Insect Clinic
Ц
State University
* COOPERATIVE
indigo ( Baptisia ), purple coneflower, gaura, and
perennial salvias such as Mexican bush sage ( Salvia
leucantha), Texas sage (Salvia greggii) , and ‘Black
and Blue’ anise sage (Salvia guaranitica) .
On die whole, deer avoid eating ornamental
grasses, which is great for gardeners because this
group includes many tough, attractive, low-mainte¬
nance options. Some of the most dependable variet¬
ies for North Carolina include pink muhly grass,
panic grass (Panicum virgatum), and hardy fountain
grass (Pennisetum alopecuriodes).
Another group of plants that deer dislike is
ferns, which are great tor moist, shady sites. Reli¬
able perennial ferns for our state include Japanese
painted fern, lady tern, and cinnamon fern, all of
which go dormant in the winter. Evergreen ferns
diat can be grown in most areas include autumn
fern, Christmas fern, holly fern, and southern shield
fern. Check with your local Extension office for
more recommendations of hardy, deer-resistant
plants for your region.
— Charlotte Glen
prefer not to eat include yaupon, Chinese
juniper, wax myrtle, oleander, rosemary,
gardenia, nandina, and Chinese holly. In
shady sites try Japanese plum yew, avail¬
able in both low-growing and upright
varieties, or needle palm, a shrub-forming
palm hardy to at least zone 7.
Although flowers are deer favorites,
there are several perennials they find less
tasty and are less likely to damage. These
include drought-tolerant, sun-loving
perennials such as die silver-leaved ‘Powis
Casde’ artemisia, colorful and hardy ‘Miss
Huff' lantana, and Arkansas blue star (Am-
sonia hubrichtii), a Southeast native. Other
perennials diat deer avoid include false
One of die simplest ways to minimize deer
damage in your yard is to landscape widi
plants diat deer prefer not to eat. While no
plant is deer proof, there are many good landscape
plants that deer find less palatable. This does not
mean deer will not eat them if it comes to a choice
between eating something diey don’t like and starv¬
ing to deadi. But most of die time diese are plants
that deer will pass over in favor of others.
Like goats, deer are browsers who feed on a
variety of plants, including trees and shrubs. Once
mature, large trees tend to be spared simply because
deer are too short to reach any but the lowest
branches, leaving small trees and shrubs to bear the
brunt of the damage. Small to medium-size trees
that have proven deer resistant over die years and
can be grown in most of the Carolinas include river
birch, crape myrtle, sweetbay magnolia, and chaste
tree (Vitex).
Because they provide a food source in winter,
evergreen shrubs are particularly prone to deer
attack. Evergreen shrubs for sunny areas that deer