Thursday, September 26, 2013

Oh, no!

My flower carpet roses should be blooming like this:


Instead, most of them look a little bare of blooms:


What's going on?  Well, upon further inspection, I noticed this:


Deer tracks!  Oh, no!

47 comments:

  1. Oh wow, that could be a huge problem. Have you ever seen deer in your garden before?

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    1. No, I didn't realize they would come so close to the house! Ack!

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  2. Giant slugs with legs! Sorry that they've eaten your flower carpet roses.

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    1. hahaha - That's how I'll think of them from now on! :)

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  3. I can imagine it's not nice to see your flowercarpet roses been eaten but it must be special to have a deer in your garden.
    Have a wonderful weekend Holley

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  4. Oh my! Deer are as destructive as rabbits--but bigger! Sorry to hear about that! Has that ever happened to you before?

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    1. No, and I'm surprised to see that they would come up so close to the house. They are stepping all over my newly planted irises, too! :(

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  5. Do you have any fence around your garden? It's terrible! I'm so sorry!

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    1. I have a fence around every part of my garden except this one area. I guess they figured that out! It's an odd area, so I'm not sure I could even fence it in. I'll have to come up with some other solution.

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  6. Oh no is right. Darn I didn't realize they tended to head towards Roses because of the thorns.
    Cher Sunray Gardens

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    1. I think they love, love, love roses! I don't know how they can eat around the thorns, maybe they just eat the blooms!

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  7. I had the same problem. In Holland there is a new eco friendly drug on the market that works.I wrote about it on my garden blog. Maybe you can read with translations.
    http://tuinverhalen.blogspot.nl/2013/09/herten-in-de-tuin-wat-nu.html
    I hope it helps you too. From Holland with love, Hetty

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    1. What an ordeal you went through! And your garden is beautiful. It makes me think that spraying is the way to go! Thanks for the post.

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  8. Oh, No! I hope the Roses respond as Pentas do when Sphinx moth larvae eat them to a nub and come back with lush new growth. Can you plant a lot of something they don't like that makes it harder to get to the roses and some low barriers that make navigation a problem for them?

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    1. I think I'm going to put one of those motion detected water sprayers out there. And hopefully that will take care of the problem. I'm not really worried about the roses (yet), they will grow back. I just don't have any pretty blooms to look at!

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  9. Such a shame of your roses, hope they will do better next year, but I suppose you have to do something about the deer. A fence?

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    1. I really don't think I could fence in this particular area, but you are right - I will have to do something! Maybe getting a (barking) dog is in order!

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    1. I know gardeners that do that, but I'm much too lazy! Hopefully they will be deterred by the motion detector water sprayers that I'm going to put out. If not, maybe a shotgun will be in order! (Just kidding there.)

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  11. That's a new one for me, deer eating late season rose blossoms. Dang.

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    1. Dang. That was almost the expletive I muttered. ;)

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  12. The deer eat mine in spring and the rabbits eat the bark off them in winter...the carpet roses are troopers though....

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    1. At least I don't have rabbits! It's incredible the number of things we gardeners have to battle! If it's not disease or some small bug, it's big chomping machines!

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  13. oh no!!! I have been using epsom salt on my roses this year...great luck so far! but there's not a cure for hungry deer!

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    1. I'm hoping if I can get them deterred for a while, they will quit coming. Keeping my fingers crossed, anyway!

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  14. What a shame! I've read that Liquid Fence is supposed to be a good deterrent.

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  15. I'm feeling your pain Holley! I hope you are able to deter it/them without too much bother.

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    1. Me, too, Angie. I am a very lazy gardener, and the thought of having to spray every week is not very enticing to me. But, I'll have to do something! Maybe I could get a recording of a barking dog to go off every so often! ;)

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  16. It is hard to believe that deer would eat roses. It has gotta hurt. I had a bush that they chewed down all the time. I finally moved it behind the fence.

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    1. That had to have been frustrating. There is really no way to fence in this area (without a lot of expense), so I'll have to come up with something. I'm glad it's just the flower carpet roses they've found so far.

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  17. Loved the outlawgardener's definition of deer: Giant slugs with legs!

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    1. It really does bring a clear picture in mind, doesn't it?!

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  18. I complain about the raccoons but I think deer must be the worst garden intruders. I'm sorry about your loss. Maybe try a repellent? (That's semi-effective with my local varmints.)

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    1. I have raccoons and opossums, and now deer! It's becoming way too much of a wildlife sanctuary in my garden! I will definitely have to repel them somehow. And maybe it will work on the raccoons and opossums, too! That would be a nice bonus!

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  19. Oh no! I suspect the deer nibbled the creeping raspberry in my backyard and nipped off some okra fruit. Grr.... I feel your pain.

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    1. That is frustrating. I've seen the deer going through the woods in front of my house, but I guess I was naive in thinking they would not come close to the house. They must have figured out when I was sleeping!

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  20. Rats with antlers. Where's the wolf pack when you need it?

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    1. Rats with antlers! :) Maybe I should really consider getting a dog - one that barks a lot!

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  21. I hate when that happens! And it happens too often. DeerOff, hot pepper, and dog hair are my remedies, but they don't always work, as I'm sure you know all too well.

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    1. I've been thinking of putting out some old-fashioned scare crows! I've heard the smell of humans will keep them at bay. Wish me luck!

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  22. I think "rats with antlers" is a little unfair, after all, they make a wonderful pie or casserole, unlike rodents. Maybe you need to start hunting...

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    1. I've actually thought of that! The local hunter in this neighborhood moved away, and the deer population has exploded. I'm thinking maybe I need to fill a freezer!

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