BTW...at least worth mentioning is that sulfur is widely believed to act as a repellent to deer. In fact; I understand that some or perhaps many commercial deer repellents contain sulfur.This also includes sulfurated items like garlic and rotten eggs. Reportedly it is believed to be effective because the smell is thought to signal "carnage" and death to them. Take all this for what it's worth. I'm not a big subscriber to repellents in the first place, but being sulfur is used by some here as a fungicide it might be worth an extra late dose to see how it fares. ACN apparently believes in the soap deal. I was taking my son to preschool the other day and he found a pear leaf in the driveway and carried it into the car. I could smell the damn sulfur on it and told him to toss it out the window. I hadn't sprayed any for several weeks and even then just a light spray. Maybe the sulfur has deterred them in the past and they are just getting used to it now. They might hammer me this winter.

Maybe they stepped on it. Are the leaves eaten? Plants not on the regular menu may be sampled once or twice when first presented. See, that's the thing: to be safe you need to not be presenting plants to deer in the first place. It's been said different individuals vary in their tastes, and then there is the problem as well of all of them being prone to starvation during northern winters. During this time kinds of plants not touched the rest of the year can be eaten to the quick. Eliminate the variables and greatly expand the planting choices with effectively installed and maintained deer fencing. Too expensive? How many plant failures can you afford to indulge in over the years?

George (et all) you don't have to have an unattractive garden to have one that deer don't eat in. Deer can be low to high pressure and what they eat will depend on how many and how much habitat is left. There are TONS of things that you can do to deter them. There are lots of plants that can be planted that they won't eat, but like what was already mentioned a starving deer will taste most anything and possibly eat it! I live in a medium to heavy pressure area depending on the season. In years prior I have lost most every hosta in my yard, along with other items like Rhodies and small leaf hollies. I have learned a few things to help prevent deer damage. Stinky plants. Anything with a strong odor will be by passed by deer. The strong odor prevents them from being able to smell the air which is one of the ways they stay alert for danager. There are a lot of commerical "odors" that can be bought and sprayed onto plants. There are also recipes that you can make yourself. Milorganite smells awful it is an organic fertilizer and it is a wonderful deer deterent!!! Predator urines are also good placed around your yard in plastic containers in a manner that would mimic their behavior (i.e. marking a tree here and there around your property) There are sachets with blood meal in them (or you can make your own using muslin sachets) blood meal screams danger to a deer and will help send them out of the yard. There are clips that contain a potent combo of garlic and almost rotten egg. These clips you clip right to the stem of the plant in danger and they do work! In areas of taste there are systemic tablets that you can plant with your new plants. The plant takes the tablet up into its system and when the deer bite it, well it isn't the same sweet flavor they knew and loved. You can make things using garlic, hot pepper and rotten eggs to spray on your plants. Mix it with wilt proof or something similar for extended life. You can also buy premade sprays as well. I am by no means a bambi lover but I am realistic and as more and more land is developed and more and more apex predators are killed off there is nothing left to hunt the deer to keep the populations in check. I will not give up gardening because of the deer I will just work with every possible item to run them off my property. If you make it hard enough for them by assulting their sense of smell and taste they WILL go elsewhere for their meals. I mean they are like us, they want to eat where they food and atmosphere are nice! There is a book called Deer Proofing your yard and Garden that has a lot of information. The site I linked sells products that work great. I have a multi layers of denfense for my garden beds and I have a profusion of flowers and plants growing and looking great. It is the first year in four years that I have hostas! Here is a link that might be useful: Deer Busters

paint the trunk is one way http://fruitgrowersnews.com/article/painting-tree-trunks-protects-against-rodents-borers/