Ninebark and Deer

[Bowsnbucks]

Question for all - If you have any ninebark planted, how do deer react to it ?? Do they browse it, and if so, does it survive ??

 

[John-W-WI]

I only planted it in the wild once. I didn't cage them and the deer got them.

-John

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

I planted around 100 ninebark shrubs on the inner row of a visual screen in one section of my property. The deer definitely browse it, but still survived - after about 10 years they are now around 5' tall and looking great. This is on my property in NW WI where the deer numbers aren't too high, so if you have a bunch of deer you might have more browsing issues.

 

[Tree Spud]

Planted 100 3-0 seedlings 2 years ago as they were "deer resistant". Still trying to one they has survived the browsing.

 

[g squared 23]

So in most instances it needs to be caged or it isn't going to make it?

Where is it on the native browse preference ranking? At the top?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ksgobbler]

I’ve got a bunch of it growing wild. Deer hit it, but thy appear to have other preferences first

 

[Bowsnbucks]

The reason I asked in this thread is because we want to add some other things for browse that will stay down within reach of deer. Our maple and oak seedlings / saplings grow out of reach eventually. Winter food plots - WR, WW, turnips, etc. - are good to have, but natural browse is also necessary.

We need things that'll grow in zone 5 & 6, in mountainous terrain - not fertile lowland. Open to any ideas - ninebark or otherwise. Something that can take being browsed and still survive.

 

[Telemark]

The reason I asked in this thread is because we want to add some other things for browse that will stay down within reach of deer. Our maple and oak seedlings / saplings grow out of reach eventually. Winter food plots - WR, WW, turnips, etc. - are good to have, but natural browse is also necessary.

We need things that'll grow in zone 5 & 6, in mountainous terrain - not fertile lowland. Open to any ideas - ninebark or otherwise. Something that can take being browsed and still survive.

Mountain Maple. If you prevent it from producing a main trunk, it will grow bushy and low like a ninebark. Deer and moose love it.

 

[chickenlittle]

I've read that mountain maple is highly tolerant of browsing and still pushing lots of growth. I've thought about getting some but it is hard to buy and we already have striped maple in our understory and that is similar. You can plant lots of stuff for browse. Elderberry, various dogwoods, various viburnums, plum. Big list.

Effect of Simulated and Natural Deer Browsing on Mountain Maple
This long-term study (1952-62) was made to measure the growth response of mountain maple (Acer spicatum) in Minnesota to different intensities of simulated and natural browsing by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). For the test clumps browsed by deer, the annual growth of twigs within reach of deer (ground level to 7 feet) was measured in late October and remeasured in late April to determine the amount removed. Similar information was obtained on test clumps within two exclosures. To simulate various intensities of browsing, the annual growth was clipped 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 percent. The degree of browsing had no apparent direct effect on the amount of growth the following season; other environmental factors were more important. Tolerance of mountain maple to browsing was high, however, since only 1 of 6 clumps had died after 100 percent of the annual growth had been clipped for 9 years. Sustained production of food within reach of deer was maintained at a level of use of about 80 percent. Since clumps are established primarily by the growth of underground stems, opportunities for management by cutting or by the application of common weed killers are excellent.
Journal of Wildlife Management 30(3):481 · July 1966
DOI: 10.2307/3798738

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Chickenlittle - I ruled out plum because of the bears. They'd destroy plums once they got their choppers into plum fruit. We have some ROD started, & more to plant. We HAD some naturally established elderberry, but the black tanks tore them all to hell and killed those too. That's why I was asking about ninebark or any other plant that would maybe be non-attractive to bears, and take deer browsing.

Telemark - I'll have to look into mountain maple. We have striped maple in the area - that stuff gets to be invasive here. Not a desirable thing to have among oaks, hickories, cherry, tulip poplar, and red & sugar maples. I have a call in to our camp's local forester for input too.

Thanks for ideas so far guys - still open to all ideas.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

Red osier dogwood is also a shrub that the deer like and can take browsing pressure. The deer like it so much it helps if you cage if a couple years so it is well established before you let the deer have at it.