Pokeweed

[Tap]

Thought I'd start a discussion on Pokeweed.
My deer love the stuff. Another reason I like it is that it's such an excellent "edge" plant. It thrives in heavy shade and also handles full sun. It naturally establishes in low-light places where plots aren't feasible and I rarely have it spread out into the plots. I avoid spraying it with herbicides and I nurture it whenever possible. It seems to be perennial. I'm not sure if it's regrowing from the same roots or from the seeds from the prior year.
I assume it spreads to adjacent areas from birds pooping the seeds.

I see it grow up in the middle of impenetrable jungles of multiflora rose which allows plants to be uneaten and reach full maturity to produce berries and seeds for birds to disperse.

During the summer, pokeweed that grows out of the reach of deer can be easily broken over without tools, kinda like a hinge cut. It stays alive and deer will strip every leaf.
After the growing season, the leaves die and turn brown and remain attached to the stock. Deer love these dead leaves. As an experiment, I've pulled some of these winter stocks from areas with no deer and brought them home and placed them in my yard just to see if deer would eat them. The ate every dead leaf.
I've seen buck rubs the stocks, too.

Do any of you see the same high usage by deer? I've wondered about trying to propagate it. Pokeweed seems to compete very well in 2nd growth areas. I used to be on a lease in Ohio that was owned by a timber company. The logged areas a few years after a cut was thick jungles of re-growth and pokeweed was everywhere and heavily browsed. It's not just my deer that love it, it seems to be desired in other areas, too.
It sure is nice to have naturally occurring plants that aren't an invasive nuisance.

 

[Tap]

Here's a few pics of deer usage of pokeweed.

This one just keeps resprouting thru out the growing season. Browsing doesn't kill it.

Shade doesn't bother it. This one is growing right under and into a spruce tree.

Even when a branch is snapped over, it continues to sprout and produce browse.

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[Bill]

Interesting, I see some around but never paid close attention. I'll have to take a closer look.

Like you obseve, I've never actually seen it in a plot.

 

[willy]

deer don't really touch it on my place. I wish they did. There is a ton of it.

 

[Boll Weevil]

Yep, deer in my area absolutely pound poke too. I've watched them work their way around a soybean field eating pokeweed before eventually working into the field.

 

[pointer]

I've seen them use it on my place. In fact, the doe my son shot last September had it's head in a poke plant as a last meal. I don't really try to propogate it, but if I disk the pasture/hay ground and do nothing else it comes up like crazy. Along with a bunch of less desirable stuff. Thinking about trying to encourage it in a few strips for some screening...

Quite a bit of poke in that mess
Untitled

 

[j-bird]

I see only minor browsing of it on my place when it is young....but that may be related to other food sources being available or just lower deer numbers as well.....I don't know.

 

[yoderjac]

Thought I'd start a discussion on Pokeweed.
My deer love the stuff. Another reason I like it is that it's such an excellent "edge" plant. It thrives in heavy shade and also handles full sun. It naturally establishes in low-light places where plots aren't feasible and I rarely have it spread out into the plots. I avoid spraying it with herbicides and I nurture it whenever possible. It seems to be perennial. I'm not sure if it's regrowing from the same roots or from the seeds from the prior year.
I assume it spreads to adjacent areas from birds pooping the seeds.

I see it grow up in the middle of impenetrable jungles of multiflora rose which allows plants to be uneaten and reach full maturity to produce berries and seeds for birds to disperse.

During the summer, pokeweed that grows out of the reach of deer can be easily broken over without tools, kinda like a hinge cut. It stays alive and deer will strip every leaf.
After the growing season, the leaves die and turn brown and remain attached to the stock. Deer love these dead leaves. As an experiment, I've pulled some of these winter stocks from areas with no deer and brought them home and placed them in my yard just to see if deer would eat them. The ate every dead leaf.
I've seen buck rubs the stocks, too.

Do any of you see the same high usage by deer? I've wondered about trying to propagate it. Pokeweed seems to compete very well in 2nd growth areas. I used to be on a lease in Ohio that was owned by a timber company. The logged areas a few years after a cut was thick jungles of re-growth and pokeweed was everywhere and heavily browsed. It's not just my deer that love it, it seems to be desired in other areas, too.
It sure is nice to have naturally occurring plants that aren't an invasive nuisance.

It is nutritious as about anything we plant. Here is a picture of pokeweed that is heavily browsed and right behind it you can see an unprotected Nikita's gift persimmon that is not protected with no browsing.

For farmers it's a weed....for us, it is a blessing!

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Native Hunter]

It's everywhere here, but I've never seen the first plant browsed in my entire life.

I wish they did like it here.

 

[Sazman]

I have it grow in my yard and it's pretty evasive especially when let to go to seed, birds do spread the seed!! And they're tap root can extend to almost 4 feet deep making it hard to get rid of!!

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[yoderjac]

Pokeweed certainly doesn't evade my deer.

Pokeweed is easy to control. It doesn't grow in areas that are regularly mowed. Now that I only mow established clover once a year just before the season begins, I get it in my clover over the summer in spots but find it beneficial. Deer certainly don't find it poisonous. When I was mowing my clover multiple times a year, it never invaded the clover but I'm sure it will always be in my seed bank.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[KDdid]

Thought I'd start a discussion on Pokeweed.
My deer love the stuff. Another reason I like it is that it's such an excellent "edge" plant. It thrives in heavy shade and also handles full sun. It naturally establishes in low-light places where plots aren't feasible and I rarely have it spread out into the plots. I avoid spraying it with herbicides and I nurture it whenever possible. It seems to be perennial. I'm not sure if it's regrowing from the same roots or from the seeds from the prior year.
I assume it spreads to adjacent areas from birds pooping the seeds.

I see it grow up in the middle of impenetrable jungles of multiflora rose which allows plants to be uneaten and reach full maturity to produce berries and seeds for birds to disperse.

During the summer, pokeweed that grows out of the reach of deer can be easily broken over without tools, kinda like a hinge cut. It stays alive and deer will strip every leaf.
After the growing season, the leaves die and turn brown and remain attached to the stock. Deer love these dead leaves. As an experiment, I've pulled some of these winter stocks from areas with no deer and brought them home and placed them in my yard just to see if deer would eat them. The ate every dead leaf.
I've seen buck rubs the stocks, too.

Do any of you see the same high usage by deer? I've wondered about trying to propagate it. Pokeweed seems to compete very well in 2nd growth areas. I used to be on a lease in Ohio that was owned by a timber company. The logged areas a few years after a cut was thick jungles of re-growth and pokeweed was everywhere and heavily browsed. It's not just my deer that love it, it seems to be desired in other areas, too.
It sure is nice to have naturally occurring plants that aren't an invasive nuisance.

Interesting that you had the same experience in Ohio that I had. I used to lease Mead Paper land in Pike county Ohio, with a 75 acre clear cut full of poke and blackberries. It was an absolute deer magnet. However, here at my farm in NE Indiana, they only incidentally browse it. Too much else on the salad bar.

 

[Merle Hawggard]

I've never really noticed the deer here bother it much. Just last week Chuck and I cut back a few monster stalks in a brush pile that had started shading out a decent sized crab apple.
I can remember my great grandmaw cooking it though I've never tried it. Seems like she boiled it and poured the water off, it's been a while.



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