Deer damage...What to do?

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QuoiMerrie Bay Village, OH Jun 15, 2009

The buds on my beloved platycodons were sheered off overnight by a deer....sap is leaking out of the stems...

What to do? if anything.

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threegardeners North Augusta, ON Jun 16, 2009

I've read that slicing a bar of Irish Spring soap into pieces and tying them to stakes in the ground beside a plant will keep deer away.

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cyclops101 Wakefield, RI Jun 16, 2009

I would say just let them be. Basically what the deer have done is pinch the tops out of your plants and although you have lost the initial blooms the plants will respond by becoming bushier and will produce more flowers. In a short period of time you should see new stems growing at the leaf axils ( where the leaves meet the stem) and each one will produce blooms provided Bambi finds another place to dine. The exuded sap will dry and the plant will heal itself so I wouldn't be concerned about either.

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mocatmom Driftwood, TX(Zone 8b) Jun 17, 2009

Cyclops is right - the deer pruned them for you since they knew you couldn't stand to do it. Do you have a dog? Mine are the guardians of my back yard.

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daphnecat Mays Landing, NJ(Zone 7a) Jun 17, 2009

If you don't get some deer repellent happening, you won't have to worry about the leaking sap for very long, since the deer won't mind eating your plants to the ground! I use rotating combinations of Irish Spring Soap, garlic clips and Liquid Fence.

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pirl (Arlene) Southold, NY(Zone 7a) Jun 18, 2009

I've been using Repels All but didn't do one area and they ate every rose bud and every phlox. Time for the Liquid Fence!

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