Where are you located? Garden Zone. And what means did you use to determine your soil PH.

I see no evidence of high ph soil in your rhododendron, only deer browse. (your leaf color is not indicating alkaline soil)

Deer are seldom truly hungry in my zone, more like opportunistic tasters. They rarely bother a mature rhododendron, but I did have a new (and expensive) plant damaged two years ago. Left in place, and sprayed as regularly as I can remember to spray it with deer repellent, it's recovering nicely.

I added a row of 6 dwarf rhodys (small leaf, which makes them appealing to deer as are evergreen azaleas) along one side my drive, those have been almost irresistible. Each is encircled now with protective wire fencing. The fencing has no aesthetic appeal at all, but it's temporary (hopefully) and doing the job.

"The man at the nursery was certain I had acidic soil based on the fact I have a mossy backyard."

So now you know that man at the nursery is a dork. My pH is mid to high 7s and I have moss.

I agree with the above. If pH were an issue you'd have nutrient deficient plants. I don't see that. Just chewed up plants.

tj

I Am in Cleveland so zone 5a I believe. I used one of those electric meters which I've read can be unreliable when it comes to ph. The soil in this area is pretty compacted and clay, even though we tilled 2 years ago. a lot of garden rocks too....I think at one point the entire garden bed were that white gravel that was popular in the 90s, laid over a plastic barrier, which I tried to remove as best as I could. I pulled out probably 3-5 5 gallon buckets of this

For the rhody- besides blocking the deer, what can I do? Should I prune back and fertilize? I grew up in apartments so keeping a plant alive even to this point is a big accomplishment for me! I also see no evidence of any blooms wanting to emerge, same with last year....all the buds were eaten off.

as for the mountain laurels- I do think I planted them too deep, I have some evidence of new growth at the bottom, but not much. Should i dig them out and replant, or just replace them at this point? Last year they were looking a bit sparse, nothing like they did when I first bought them. I got no blooms whatsoever from them last year and I'm pretty sure they weren't touched by the deer. The leaves were also turning brown, with one out of the 3 plants looking like a total lost cause.

i have no issue digging up and starting over, I just want to make sure I plant the right thing and plant them correctly.

First have a good reliable soil test done. Your Ohio State University does not do soil tests anymore but the University of Kentucky or the University of Connecticut will.

Mountain Laurel and Rhododendrons evolved in soils with low pH and will not do well if the soil pH they grow in is not in the range they prefer, although having adequate amounts of organic matter sometimes can buffer that.