Meet Mike in Fredericksburg next weekend
Mike will appear next Saturday and Sunday, March 14-15 at the Fredericksburg Home and Garden Show at the Expo Center in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Mike’s lecture times are noon, 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturday and 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. Click here for details.
Privacy plants that deer won’t devour
Jenn in Catonsville, Maryland writes: “We have 100 linear feet of space along the street that we want to block for privacy, but we don’t like fences — and the area gets full sun. I know that arborvitae is the most popular evergreen for privacy planting, but we have a lot of deer. So I’ve been researching my options.”
Well, you’re wise to rule out the arborvitae, Jenn. Deer love them (arborvitae might be their single favorite food), and the plants don’t handle ice storms very well. So let’s take a look at some of the options you’ve come up with so far.
‘Would ‘Burning Bush’ be effective?’
Sorry Jenn — 100-foot-long row of the burners would look spectacular when they’re at their peak of fiery red, but Rutgers’ excellent “deer and landscape plants” website (see below) rates burning bush (scientific name: Euonymus) a poor choice, as all of the various forms and species of the plant fall under either their “frequently” or “severely damaged” categories.
‘What about a line of holly?’
Great idea. And my first thought was that any holly would be perfect, as it loves sun, and (I thought) have leaves that are too tough for deer to eat — but the Rutgers website says that my assumption is incorrect and the choice of type of holly is critical here.
They rate the “Morris” line of shrub hollies (specifically “Lydia Morris” and “John T. Morris”) as being very deer-resistant, but note that the incredibly popular “Nellie Stevens” holly is frequently eaten.
The American holly also gets an A rating, meaning deer don’t eat it, and it’s a tree form that grows tall. Just be aware that its naturally wide spacing between branch levels would require a well thought-out “staggered” planting design to be an effective screen.
Mike’s thinking grass here — big grass
My suggestion is to consider installing ornamental grasses. They grow quickly, flourish in full sun and the Rutgers website on landscape plantings confirms that deer won’t go near their sharp blades. And you have a huge number of options, many of which will grow tall enough to protect your privacy. Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), for instance, reaches a height of 6 feet and then shoots up foot-and-a-half-tall flower stalks. And Giant Miscanthus (Miscanthus x giganteus) reaches 10 feet in height and spreads out up to 8 feet. Now that’s a screening plant.
But be warned that there are one or two frisky species of ornamental grasses with seeds can escape your yard and become invasive. So if you like this basic idea, read this article I wrote a few years back about using ornamental grasses as privacy plants. It has a lot more details and recommended plants — and warnings about which one to avoid.
Some things to consider before you start planting
In addition to checking Rutgers’ exhaustive list of plants most and least preferred by deer to make sure that you don’t accidentally plant anything edible (put that link in your “favorites” and consult it before you plant) and do not dig right next to a road without first making sure there are no electrical or water lines down there. Here’s the national resource for such information: 811 — Call Before You Dig. Again, put it in your favorites. “Oopsie” doesn’t cut it when you hit a live wire or sever your sewer line.
And do not plant screening trees or shrubs in a straight line. Number five always dies and leaves you with a gaping hole; and the line is never straight. Instead, stagger two lines of plants in a checkerboard kind of pattern for a much more aesthetic and effective planting scheme.
And remember to leave enough room for the plants to reach full size. That’s another advantage of the staggered effect: You can totally block the view while allowing for airflow between the plants.
