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Post by binnylou on May 26, 2022 7:19:05 GMT -5
We have three young Redbud trees. Two are of a nice size, but the third one struggles. It is planted along the walking path of “The Back Four”. I have a cage around it to protect from deer, but every bit of twig that might grow through the cage has been removed by deer. I know…need a bigger cage. It’s on our list.
Last fall, I hung a half bar chunk of Irish Spring in a netted bag near to the tree. This spring, the soap was on the ground. There were a few flakes of the soap close to the piece of soap, so I figured that somebody tasted it and didn’t like it. Now, the soap is gone. Somebody ate it, stole it, carried it back to their den, flew away with it. It’s just gone, but the flakes remain.
Who eats Irish Spring?
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Post by breezygardener on May 26, 2022 10:42:40 GMT -5
I am REALLY surprised that you're having a deer problem with Redbud. They're native & literally everywhere here - almost like weeds - & have never been touched by our explosive deer population. Not even a nibble. Of course, these are the native variety. Are you growing a domestic hybrid that perhaps has had the deer-repellent features bred out of it?
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Post by emmsmommy on May 26, 2022 12:00:51 GMT -5
I've had people swear that deer won't eat tomato or potato leaves, but our deer evidently have different tastes. I think it's all about what's available. A deer in an urban area will likely nibble on things that one in a rural area wouldn't touch simply because they have more variety. As for what would eat soap, I know mice will chew on a bar of soap but not likely to drag off a whole bar. Raccoons are curious, but are they that curious?
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Post by binnylou on May 26, 2022 13:39:26 GMT -5
breezygardener, I think these are Eastern Redbud, purchased from Musser in Pennsylvania. I purchased 5 very small trees, 3 survived. Hybrid?
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Post by breezygardener on May 26, 2022 14:45:11 GMT -5
I think these are Eastern Redbud, purchased from Musser in Pennsylvania. That is the native one. Frankly, I WISH the deer would eat some of the seedlings that sprout all over the place. We have them coming up everywhere. The trees ARE very pretty in early Spring though - pops of magenta/purple all over our property & the entire state. Again - I'm surprised your deer find them tasty, although I suppose I should be surprised that ours don't have a taste for them since the flowers are edible for us, & normally anything that's edible for us is definitely edible for deer. There are a fair number of new hybrids available with leaves in burgundy, gold, & even a mix of green, gold, & pink. I wouldn't mind trying one of the last tri-colored ones if I didn't already have so many of the native ones in my yard. A property in town has a row of them & they're extremely pretty.
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