Here in PA we have lots of deer problems. Your plants will survive one year of damage. But if attacked a second year while heavily stressed you will loose some. Depending upon the deer pressure in your area, you response will vary. Where deer are just casual visitors, usually a number of deer repellents will work. They only work for a while, so it is best to rotate them. Some repellents used are: eggs, human hair, soap, feathermeal, bloodmeal, creosote, mothballs, tankage and commercial chemical repellents. The greatest amount of protection for home gardens with repellents is obtained by using several different repellents and rotating their use. Repellents should be applied before damage is likely to occur and before deer become accustomed to feeding on the plants. It may be too late to use repellants in your case. Rhododendrons with a heavy indumentum (fuzz on the underside of the leaves) are not popular with deer and are usually not bothered. Some of the cultivars known as "Yaks" have this indumentum. Among the most popular plants are 'Mist Maiden' and 'Ken Janek.' There have been many sprays to deter deer and they all worked for a while, usually until the deer became hungry. They all were temporary and had to be reapplied after every rain, or every couple weeks when it didn't rain. A Swedish product has the promise of deterring deer for up to 6 months. Tests have shown that it causes about a 95% reduction in deer damage. The product is Plantskydd Deer Repellent. Deer Netting: To prevent winter deer damage you need to take prompt action in the fall and subsequent falls to insure it doesn't happen again. I use a product found in hardware stores called deer netting. It is similar to bird netting but heavier and courser. I wrap groups of plants together and wrap isolated plants individually. I fasten it on with tie wraps or twine and just cut the tie wraps or twine off in the spring. The important thing is to take deer netting off in the spring before the rhododendrons and azaleas sprout and grow through it. If the foliage does grow through the netting, the netting is hard to remove without damaging the plants. The course deer netting is good in that it doesn't get covered with snow unless it is a very wet snow. Otherwise the snow just goes through it. Deer Fencing: A heavier product is deer fencing. I have a couple beds of azaleas that were decimated during the summer before I used deer fencing. It is typically 7' to 8' tall and can be wire mesh or a heavy plastic mesh. I purchased the heavy plastic mesh deer fencing with easy to install steel posts from: http://www.deerxlandscape.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/Fencing.html When using deer netting in an area that is heavily traveled by deer, place something visible like plastic grocery bags on the netting so the deer can see it and avoid it. Soon they will change their travel path and it won't be a problem. However, if a new fence or deer netting is place across their natural path, they will do almost anything to get through. Persist until you get them to change their travel path. One interesting side effect is that squirrels don't see deer netting too well and bounce off it like a trampoline. They soon learn to watch out for it.

Tab, Youve been set back a little, but your tree will grow on. Its root system wasnt harmed. AL

1) Never fertilize plants under stress. They are unable to metabolize the fertilizer it tends to just stress them further. 2) This could be merely winter damage or it could be something more serious. Often, winter damage is the introduction some plant pathogens need to take hold and create far more serious issues. The only way you will know for sure what is causing the dieback is to take samples (and photos) of the problems into your extension office. They should be able to forward them off to a plant pathologist (if not one on staff) for an accurate diagnosis. 3) Your zone is really too cold for Japanese maples to thrive. Most are not rated below zone 5 and some only to zone 6. Check out some of the other Asian species of maples that are more cold hardy - Acer pseudosiebioldianum, A. triflorum, A. griseum, and some selections of japonicum and shirasawanum.

Thanks drloyd. My husband spotted a rabbit in the yard recently, it might be the culprit then. I'd be shocked if a deer came this far into suburban neighborhoods, though. I have a pack of really annoying squirrels around and they made a big mess of my flower plantings (hanging baskets and window planters), so I thought they might be responsible. There's also a couple of skunks, a groundhog or two, and several neighborhood cats and strays. I thought I had outsmarted them with my chicken wire... Well, I'll put a couple of peas back into the soil, but do you think I should trim the damaged pea plants or uproot them? As for the beans, does a leafless bean plant stand a chance to recover? If not, I think I'll skip more beans, pull them up and plant some carrots there instead.