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deer & viburnums

18 years ago

Hi ~

I posted this message to the Mid-Atlantic forum, before I noticed how little "traffic" that forum got, so I'm hoping to get more in the way of response here:

I keep reading conflicting info about deer & viburnums -- extremes, from they don't prefer viburnums at all to they decimate them! (I'm talking specifically about white-tail deer, & if it helps, I'm in the Philly / Wilmington DE area, so anyone's experience from this region would be especially helpful -- but I'll take all I can get!)

The 2 kinds of viburnums I'm considering are dentatum (arrowwood) & rhytidophyllum (leatherleaf), as they're the ones I most often see on deer-resistant lists. However, I've seen other viburnums on other lists.

We do have a mature mass planting of doublefile (plicatum tomentosum) that they mostly leave alone, but I believe they were mature plantings before the deer population was so intense in the area & the browse became so heavy.

Thanks!

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Comments (5)

Embothrium
18 years ago
Planted a Viburnum dentatum 'Blue Muffin' last year and had them zero in on it.
Iris GW
18 years ago
I have had them browse the tender tips of v. nudum. I did have them eat the whole berry cluster from a Blue Muffin v. dentatum last year. Chomped it right off. Luckily the plant recovered and will even bloom again this year.

So far, have not had them eat mapleleaf viburnum or chindo viburnum.
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How high do they need to be? and how wide can they get? sounds like you have some good sun, so that increases your options greatly. Consider a broad-leafed evergreen for year-round screening: How about Portuguese laurel, Skip laurel, Carolina Cherry laurel 'compacta', Chindo vib. is great (I have one) and hoping it is hardy here!, 'Conoy vib.' is also evergreen but needs some shaping and takes time to get high, many upright, narrow hollies available (Blue Maid, Oakleaf, Virginia, Oakland, Fosters), Jap. ligustrum (will need some pruning - but gorgeous evergreen glossy leaves), Leatherleaf viburnum, or build a fence and plant clematis, cross vine, Carolina jessamine, etc.
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MissSherry
18 years ago
They LOVE v. nudum, but they've never bothered my v. dentatum or v. ashes.
Sherry
doc_dot
18 years ago
Deer have ignored my chindo so far. There is a fungus that leaves spots on the leaves and results in leaf drop in the spring. Important to dispose of dropped leaves. Fungal spray is possible.

As I posted in the other forum, the leatherleafs in my gardens (z-7b/8a) look simply awful during cold weather. The leaves that remain on the plant are all droopy, and that makes me feel droopy too.
ferncreek
Original Author
18 years ago
Thank you everyone for your input on this so far....Keep 'em coming! Very helpful.
Doc dot, how do you like the look of your leatherleafs the rest of the year? To tell you the truth, it's an area of the property where no one really goes in the winter, so we won't worry about the "droopy" look. Are they OK spring, summer & fall?
Thanks again.

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