It can be heartbreaking to take the time and effort to plant beautiful flowers in your yard and patiently wait for them to bloom, and boom!!!! Some deer come to munch on them while you dozed off at night.
The good news is that your hydrangeas will grow back and bloom again even after this deer attack. All it will take is a little time and patience.
Deers are particularly crazy about feeding on hydrangeas, but they will eat almost anything when their choice food is scarce (especially in winter). However, you can keep these deers from your beloved plant by sticking to some tips we will share later.
What Exactly Are Hydrangeas?
Suppose you are a backyard fan as we are. In that case, you will already know that Hydrangeas is a family name given to over 60 species of flowers, including Bigleaf Hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla) and Panicle hydrangeas (Hydrangea paniculata) Hydrangeas (Hydrangea arborescens).
They grow as shrubs or trees and are commonly found in America and Asia. They are water thirty plants, and hydrangeas’ library translation is “water vessels.”
These plants primarily grow during the spring and autumn months and are adored for their ornamental appeal. Hydrangeas also feature bright and beautiful blooms during the summer months. They come in different amazing comes from plain white to different hues of pink, red, blue and what gave you.
Hydrangeas are grown mainly in spring or autumn because they need water to thrive. They are lovely to look at, and that is the main reason why these plants are grown.
Their bright and beautiful color look very vibrant in summer. They grow perfectly in zones 5-9, even though a few varieties will thrive in zones 3 and 4.
Do Deer Eat Hydrangeas?
Deers eat a lot of different kinds of plants, from leaves to vegetables and even Flowers. They, however, have a taste for hydrangeas because they will go out of their way to feed on your lovely blooms even if they find other food sources; that is why you have to think up ways to keep your plant safe or keep deers away from your space.
The beautiful foliage of hydrangeas is attractive to deers, and they will always go back to any place where they find these plants in abundance.
You will, however, watch out for this pesky forager, which can destroy your beautiful garden if their activities are not abated. Except you don’t mind the waste of time, cash, and efforts put into growing those hydrangeas.
Will Hydrangeas Grow Back if Eaten by Deer?
Affirmative hydrangeas will grow back even when it’s been eaten, and this is because it is a very resilient plant that will bounce back despite the odds.
However, the first thing you have to do, however, if you notice that deers munched on the plant is to check the state of the flower bud because it is this part of the hydrangeas that will help revive the plant.
Most times, deers usually eat the upper parts of hydrangeas, so if only the upper part of the bloom is eaten, you don’t have an issue because once the bud is intact or slightly damaged, you can bet your last dollar that the plant will still produce flowers.
However, it shouldn’t surprise you if you notice that the new hydrangeas that you just planted are the ones that not just deers easily attack, but only animals, and this is because of how soft and succulent they are. You should protect these plants with any deterrent for deer like a net or construct a strong fence.
How To Tell If Deer Attacked Your Hydrangeas
There are different animals, including insects, that can be feeding on your hydrangeas, but it is pertinent that you understand what a deer attack would like to be sure of what is invading your bush. When a deer attack hydrangeas bushes, you will find the following:
1. They eat up the whole leaf but might leave the leaf stem a d the main stems. These stems remain stick out interestingly over the place.
2. They are “dear browsers,” which is a term that signifies that they are half-hearted in their feeding, and they don’t eat up the whole hydrangeas bushes. They usually leave the buds, which means that the plant will grow back.
3. They are not organized, systematic, or patterned in how they eat; they graze randomly, eat a given bush halfway, abandon it, and move somewhere else to continue grazing.
4. You can also check for their hoofprint (footprints) to confirm if it is those of a deer once you notice the grazing Patten listed above.
How to Protect Your Hydrangeas From Deer Destruction
Many people in the US and around the world get nocturnal visits from deers, leaving behind massive destruction of precious plants afterward, not with over 30 million deers found in the US alone, to say nothing of the millions more over the world. This tells you that plant destruction by deer is a real issue, and hydrangeas are one of the usual victims.
Here are some proven tips to make your yard as deer-proof as possible and keep your beautiful hydrangea shrubs and climbing vines from becoming deer food.
There are quite a number of things you can do that are proven to protect your hydrangeas from being feasted on by dears; they include:
1. Plant Deer-resistant Varieties of Hydrangeas
while deer eat many hydrangeas varieties, there are a few that deers don’t care for, so they are less likely to eat them. Some of those varieties include:
a. Bigleaf Hydrangea
This variety blooms in late spring and summer, and its color is usually pink or blue. They grow to up to 3 feet in height and 4 feet wide.
b. Annabelle Hydrangea
This flower blooms from early summer to late fall, and they have beautiful white flowers, which usually produce heads over 10″ in diameter.
c. Oakleaf Hydrangea
This very popular Hydrangeas variety blooms from early summer to late fall. The flowers are white when they open, but they later change to pink or dark red.
d. Lacecap Hydrangea
This deer-resistant flower blooms in early summer and turns red, orange, and purple in fall.
e. Peegee Hydrangea
Deer will not easily eat this plant that blooms with blue flowers in early summer, which later turns pink or red in fall.
2. Plant Other Deer-resistant Crops
You can also decide to plant other plants that deers do not like near your hydrangeas; this will ensure that the deer steer clear completely from both the hydrangeas and the crops they hate.
Some plants that deers do not exactly like include: lavenders, boxwoods, poppies, ferns, foxgloves, daffodils, and the likes.
Deer will move away from places where these plants are grown. These pants have heady scents that repel the deer and make them believe they are unwanted in such places
3. Electric Fence To The Rescue
This is a foolproof means of protecting your hydrangeas from deers. They might prove a little expensive, but they are great for keeping deers away from your space and other Invaders.
4. Use Deer Netting On Your Hydrangeas
You can cover your hydrangeas in deer netting, which is lightweight and almost invisible, draped on the hydrangeas bush and anchored to the ground using wooden stakes.
If the bush becomes too big for the netting, then you can carefully remove the netting and replace them with bigger ones.
5. Keep a Radio Around The Hydrangeas Bush at Night
This might sound ridiculous, but this is a very effective way of keeping deer off your hydrangeas and space. The sound from the radio makes the invading deer believe that there are people lurking g around so that it will move away for safety. You can hang it on a tree branch or any place where it can remain safe.
6. Use Soap
This is a simple hack that will push deer from your yard. You need to get perfumed soaps and hang them on trees or any safe place near your hydrangeas plant, and deers will not come near them.
The scent might be telling it that you are close by, coupled with the fact that they hate very strong fragrances; thus, it will move away for safety.
Conclusion
Deers are very common foragers that you find around most homes. They feed on almost all kinds of plants, including hydrangeas, shrubs, or trees with over 60 varieties with different amazing colors.
There are, however, a few deer-resistant varieties of the flower-producing plant; common among them are oakleaf hydrangeas. You can do different simple things to protect your beautiful plant from those 4-legged menaces.
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We trust this article helped you know if Hydrangeas can grow back if eaten by deer. You may also want to check out How To Stop Deer From Eating Hydrangeas.
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