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| Deer damage. February 2014 |
Well, not the entire yucca. Not yet—and there's no sign of spring around here.
It's been a cold winter and food is scarce, so hungry deer seek out plants that aren't on the regular menu. The deer ignore the yucca from spring through fall. This is not the first winter when the yucca was ripped up, so I wasn't surprised. I should have put a cage around it, but I didn't. While the yucca is ragged, it will recover and bloom again this summer.
The victim here is yucca filamentosa 'Color Guard' but the deer will nibble the tips on any variety of yucca. For photos of this particular yucca in full glory, refer to my past post "Rays of Sun, Leaves of Yellow." I love this yucca and am keeping it in the deer resistant garden. Not only is it an easy-keeper (ignore it except to protect it from deer in winter), it's a great evergreen companion to shrubs, annuals and perennials in my zone 7b garden.
So, gardeners beware—protect your prized yucca from deer in winter.
| Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. Deer and rabbit resistance varies based upon the animal population and availability of food. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks, copyrights, or patents owned by those respective companies or persons. |