i am trying to do this.

10 years ago

Im using hasta and astilbe and elephant ear among other. But i feel like im growing a salad bar for deer. one day. Bam. Its destroyed. I have tried mamy deer deterants. Any suggestions to maybe replace hosta that look as good as hosta. Do i have to fence in my entire yard?

Woodland Retreat · More Info

Featured Answer

PRO

a Blade of Grass

10 years ago

Thanks for the question. Deer are a tough problem to have, they'll eat just about anything if they are hungry enough. That being said, Hosta is definitely one of their favorite foods. A couple suggestions of perennials that will tolerate shade and not get eaten by deer are: Ferns, Dicentra, Helleborus, Ligularia, Hakonechloa, and Pulmonaria.

Comments (10)

rhindaashby1
9 years ago
Go to the beauty shop and collect human hair. Put it around your garden. Replace it every so often. Especially if you get a lot of rain. The human sent will keep them away from your plants.
Margie McLaughlin
9 years ago
rhindaashby1, this is hysterically funny! It sounds like Silence of the Lambs! Ugh!!!!
PRO
a Blade of Grass
9 years ago
Margie, thanks for the email. I love the Monterey area, I wish we could work out there too!
Marc Saga
9 years ago
forestial
Lynn Winter
9 years ago
I have heard that hanging/hiding bars of Irish Spring soap throughout the yard deters deer. They are said to hate the scent.
Ruchi Oswal
4 years ago
Anything do you recommend to deter gophers?
PRO
a Blade of Grass
4 years ago
Rodents are tough. The best way to keep them away is a fence with a portion of wire mesh buried underground to prevent them digging under. I've read that they don't like anything spicy, so hot pepper spray applied to the plants that you're trying to protect can work, but it needs to be applied frequently as it washes off.
Mary K
4 years ago
I had deer invade and devour 1/3 of my garden overnight last summer. Hostas, lilies, phlox, sedum...all gone. ;-( I bought Irish Spring soap bars, and used my vegetable peeler to create strips that I tucked around the leaves (and blossoms) of my plants. No more deer for the entire season! Worked like a charm, and super cheap & easy to accomplish.
Dominic Chiodo
7 months ago
Place catmint plants amongst the hostas and the deer will avoid the area