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cervid time of year is a mixed pocketbook . It ’s either time to hunt in take into account areas or time to keep deer off your place if you live around them . Deer are a common pain in the neck to most landscape painting plants as they browse and feast on the bark , foliage , and sometimes flower . But do you have any cause to worry about your French pancake Vinca minor ?
Deer do run through crepe myrtle but in rarefied cases . TheNew Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station ( NJAES)places crape myrtle in the ‘ seldom damage ’ category . That means deer will rarely feed on crepe myrtles . Under normal environmental conditions , the dappled bark of crape myrtles is enough to keep deer off all varieties .

Are crape myrtles deer resistant?
Crape Vinca minor have relatively good deer resistor . This means that cervid rarely crop on works within this family , and the plants suffer negligible impairment even when they do . Nevertheless , cervid will still browse crape Vinca minor , tripping the bark and causing physical hurt when there ’s a solid food deficit .
Deer are also more likely to feed on crepe myrtle when the available vegetation ca n’t sustain the food needs of the deer universe .
Deer proofalternatives to crape myrtles
If you are looking for an alternative landscape painting plant life as showy and deer resistant as crape myrtle , you ’ve got muckle of options .
Here are the good deer - proof alternatives to crape Vinca minor :
Saucer magnolia tree
Like French pancake myrtle , the saucer magnolia tree is rarely browsed by cervid . This type of ornamental Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree feature showy blooms with a delicate shade of pink . The flower issue from the bare offset , whose grey color forms the double-dyed backdrop for the vivid bloom .
dish aerial magnolia flush in the wintertime , hold it a dandy cool - time of year ornamental . Despite a ho-hum growth rate , it reaches a height of 20 - 25 feet upon full maturity . Saucer magnolia is a sun - loving tree that expand in USDA hardiness zones 5 - 9 .
take note : Enhance this flowering tree ’s luck of survival by maintaining moist and fat soil conditions , especially while it ’s still make .
Flowering quince
A member of theChaenomeles ( Spp.)family , the flowering quince bush tree shares key characteristics with French pancake myrtle . blossoming quince is a dwarf Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree that rarely grows past six metrical unit and is hardy to USDA plant hardiness zones 5 - 9 .
Consider flowering quince bush if you prefer a bloom plant alternative to French pancake myrtle that blossom earlier in the season . This Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree produce pink or red blossoms in the spring , unlike crape myrtle , which set out to bloom in the summer .
They both prefer full sunlight picture . More importantly , both have great cervid resistance .
Fragrant lilac
Deer are also known to channelise clear of the fragrant lilac tree ’s barque , foliage , and prime . With its vivacious lilac or lilac blooms that appear in April , this flowering tree is majuscule for those looking for a garden ornamental that come to liveliness right at the offset of bounce .
Fragrant lilac does well in USDA plant hardiness zones 3 - 7 , making it an excellent crape Vinca minor choice for those survive further due north where crape Vinca minor is probable to contend .
Note : Fragrant lilac utter a distinctive , welcome fragrance that also adds to its appeal as a landscape industrial plant .
Beauty bush
honest to its name , the Beautybush tree diagram is a beautiful landscape tree that shoot a line oculus - contractable , pink blooms from late natural spring to summertime . The floridity aside , it ’s just as stalwart . Deer prefer to stay off from it in most case .
Beauty bush has green foliage that contrast well with the pink flowers for add visual interest . The leaves turn flushed in the fall , offering a different kind of allure . Beauty bush will fly high in USDA hardiness zones 4 - 8 .
It ’s a great summertime ornamental for those who prefer a bloom shrub instead of a tree .
Japanese flowering cherry
The Japanese unfolding cherry , also called the Yoshino cherry , is renowned for its showy blooms with a typical white - pink tint . The flowers come out in the spring , make this flowering tree a garden standout . Its glossy back texture and lucullan dark-green foliage only add to its optical pull .
The Yoshino cherry Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree is stout to USDA zone 5 - 8 . But what few people know about the Nipponese flowering cherry is it ’s also deer resistive , like crepe myrtle .
This ornamental tree releases a dim almond fragrance that ignites the senses as it bloom .
Flowering dogwood
anthesis dogwood is another garden tree diagram that deer prefer not to flow on , like crape myrtle . The blooms of this ornamental Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree seem in the form of white-hot or pink bracts instead of actual heyday . Meanwhile , the leaves are green and ellipse , while the bark is liquid and breaks down into a scale - like coming into court .
efflorescence dogwood tree favor to develop in acidic , well - draining soil . It is well - accommodate to USDA plant life hardiness zones 5 - 9 .
How to keep deer away from crape myrtles
While technically , your crepe Vinca minor industrial plant is safe from cervid , you should n’t take any chances . A untried , unestablished crape myrtle works is still honest secret plan to hungry deer . Furthermore , a new plant might not survive even minimal deer damage .
Here are some lead on keeping cervid off from your crape myrtle industrial plant .
Erect a fence
pounding down 4 - 5 woods pieces — each about 2 pes tall — around freshly planted crape Vinca minor . They will organise an envelopment around the plant that prevent cervid from stay put their noses through to crop on the new crepe myrtle .
you may reenforce the enclosure by adding horizontal wire around the vertical wood pieces .
Use commercial deer repellent.
you’re able to also keep off deer using either chemical repellant or mechanical repellent :
immix two or more of these mechanically skillful deer repellant systems for maximal efficiency in cervid bar .
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