I've had a deer issue doe at least 25 years, tried all kinds of potions (none worked), tried all sorts of gadgets (a pulsing sprinkler deterrent sort of worked).

Bottom line that will save you tons of frustration: Deer will eat anything if they are hungry enough. A fence at least 8 ft. high is the only sure thing to keep them away from your garden.

When I do new plants I always do a search to see if they are deer resistant. If yes, I consider it. If not, I move on.

I did do a search for Skip Laurel and it indicated deer resistance. Your deer must be hungry............

Good luck!

Mike

10 ft. high black deer netting stapled to peeler poles effective and comparatively inexpensive

I did try this and had a buck rip it to shreds with his antlers (stood there watching NOT AMUSED).

Mike

Deer will eat anything if they are hungry enough.

==>> and therein lies the rub .... ken

ps: see what i did there ... lol ...

*sigh*... Fencing isnt in the cards. I guess all I can do is hope the Schip Laurels survive the winter...

You should plant a lot of euonymus. They prefer that and may stay away from the Schips.

With all the other items on my plate right now (young kids... fixer upper house...) I have little time for gardening right now. Sounds like this should be less an issue once established. Crossing fingers!

Thanks for all all the replies! Great info :)

Nothing is deer resistant, not even Death-Angel mushrooms.

"Nothing is deer resistant,"

That is just not true.

There is a difference between "deer resistant" and "deer proof".

This is the lesson I learned

to follow up on this-- the deer not only munched away all winter-- they are STILL eating the Schip Laurels. I bought some repellant. Hoping this works. I will also look into euonymus :-/

Deer are ruminants. And their stomachs will adjust to what they are eating on a regular basis. Making that particular food even more palatable and tasty to them. They also will come back to the same plants time and again because as the plant re-buds in the spring, it's like candy to them to eat the tender new sprouts.

I've seen in a woods setting where a certain small Abies balsamea, Quercus macrocarpa or other tree that are normally browsed by deer, pruned down to bare wood as they keep returning to the same tree, apparently as a 'preferred snack'.

If you can keep the deer off the Laurels for a period of time, they may find something else they like and won't be so prone to target them exclusively. And the plants will become more robust once established and an occasional light browsing won't affect them as much as it would on new plantings.

this is the plan, for now. I'll spray the repellant for the next year or two. Every.single.month.

Then I will slowly wean off the repellant. Hopefully.

Some of them are starting to come back. The two that got it the worst are still struggling.

I don't know how big the shrubs are but I used those cheap $1 plastic stakes you get at the garden stores along with chicken wire to protect what I don't want damaged by deer and rabbits.

Below is a Balsaam Fir that was just a stick when I rescued it from the woods 3 years ago. The deer were hitting it hard and it wouldn't have taken it for much longer.

I'm not worried about getting browsed some but would like to keep the main leader undamaged until it's tall enough where deer can't reach it.

The wire is 2ft. wide so I stacked two high and just threaded the rods through the holes in the wire. That's only 4ft. high but the wire is stiff and the deer just don't want to mess with it. I also give it a spray once in a while.

Once the new growth begins to harden off, the deer seem to loose interest. You could go to 6ft. very easily and bigger diameter if needed but this seems to work. Only two of the stakes need to be in the ground, the others only tie the two chicken wire hoops together.

Here's what the tree looked like last Year. Even worse the year before last when I transplanted it. It will be over 5ft. high by the end of the season so I think I'll be able to 'let it go' with no protection next year.

this might be a better approach for me... not that pretty initially (looks better than I would have thought, but preference would be to not have this, lol!), but a lot less work

It is easy to construct and take down and you may only need it during the winter months and early spring. After that other sources of deer food become available.

Everything I've planted since I moved here 5 years ago is rather small but I learned the hard way when I lived on a wooded parcel in the country. I had set backs many times from deer and rabbits and I'm just not willing to let that happen anymore.

Oh and don't use old rusty chicken wire, the new stuff looks bad enough! lol ;o)

Good luck!

argh! I have been spraying my skip laurel and red twig dogwoods (both deer resistant) with deer repellent every 30 days. Woke up today watching a doe munching on the dogwood.

This chicken wire is looking better and better :-/

These deer are not cooperating!

"These deer are not cooperating!"

Who'd of thought? :-)

IME: I never had a lot of luck with sprays and such. Just too many heavy dew mornings and rain showers at night. Then to keep track of the last time things were sprayed....

Oh, I was wrong, shiny new chicken wire is very noticeable with it's bright galvanized finish. The older that's been out in the weather has a dulled finish and is almost invisible by comparison.

"I will also look into euonymus :-/"

If you think your deer are enjoying eating your Laurel, wait till you plant Euonymus!

I used to grow hedges of these in another deef-free area; now in deer central I can only grow one in a planter on a gated, raised deck. Euonymus is on their preferred list big time!I rely on my neighbors to plant the shrubs that they love to eat and to keep them nice and fat.

Again, it's a question of relative resistance, and your Laurel is not typically eaten by deer. Other shrubs that deer tend to avoid (in my NJ backyard) include; Hollies, Rhododendrons, Ornamental grasses, bamboo (but I only advise the CLUMPING varieties), Viburnums, Butterfly Bush, Boxwood, and Crape Myrtles. Good luck!

The deer are avoiding my viburnum— that’s the only shrubs left alone :(

the goal is a privacy hedge

Thuja green giant or boxwood. They eat everything else, but do not touch either of these.