Q. Recently I had the gardener take out two buddleias as they were wormy and nothing seemed to help.\u00a0 Now I have to replace them. The area receives sun from around 11:00 am on. One big drawback is that whatever I plant there must not be attractive to deer, if that\u2019s at all possible.<\/p>\n
I live on the corner of two\u00a0streets and according to city ordinances my fence can be higher than 4 feet which is nothing for the deer. The gardener suggested potato bush, what do you think?<\/p>\n
Do you have any suggestions as to what kind of flowering shrub and when to plant them?<\/p>\n
Thank you very much.<\/p>\n
A. Your plants probably were being eaten by the buddleia budworm (Pyramidobela angelarum). I once removed an otherwise healthy buddleia for the same reason.<\/p>\n
Monrovia, a\u00a0wholesale nursery that provides plants for many local garden centers, lists\u00a0160 deer-resistant shrubs<\/span><\/a>\u00a0that would grow well in a sunny location in the Monterey Bay area. We should recognize that few if any plants are deer-proof: a really hungry deer will eat just about any plant.<\/p>\n The blue potato bush (Lycianthes rantonnetii\u00a0<\/span><\/a>or Solanum rantonnetii) will grow to about 8 feet x 8 feet, and would be a suitable replacement. However, it is attractive to both aphids and thrips. This is not the same as the potato vine (Solanum jasminoides<\/i><\/span><\/a>) <\/i>which is also deer-resistant, but which has a different\u00a0growth pattern. Another potato bush (<\/i>Solanum crispum\u00a0\u2018Glasnevin<\/i><\/span><\/a>\u2019<\/i><\/span>)\u00a0<\/i>is not considered deer resistant.<\/p>\n Another good choice would be the Abelia. Click\u00a0here<\/span><\/a>\u00a0for information on ten varieties, almost all of which are deer-resistant. \u00a0I have four\u00a0Abelia x ‘Edward Goucher<\/i><\/span><\/a>\u2019<\/i><\/span>\u00a0<\/i>doing well in my garden (where deer don\u2019t visit).<\/p>\n If you would like to try buddleia again (with a plan to manage pests),\u00a0here<\/span><\/a>\u00a0is information on 23 varieties, most (perhaps all) of which are deer resistant. It\u2019s easiest to consider a variety that’s in stock at a local garden center.<\/p>\n There are ways to manage the buddleia budworm, but they are not easy, partly because it can have two or three generations in a single year. The method, briefly, it to cut the plant low to the ground in the winter (to eliminate over-wintering pests) and then whenever the pest shows up, spray with\u00a0Bacillus thuringiensis <\/i>(\u201cBT\u201d). A widely available product is Safer Caterpillar Killer.<\/p>\n I hope this helps.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Q. Recently I had the gardener take out two buddleias as they were wormy and nothing seemed to help.\u00a0 Now I have to replace them. The area receives sun from around 11:00 am on. One big drawback is that whatever … Continue reading