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My rose bush was loaded with buds the a few days ago. Today almost all of the buds are gone. My guess is a deer got them, way to high for a rabbit. I guess I'll take the bush out and give it to my DIL.

They'll probably set more buds this summer. Is there any way you can protect them from deer?

That's so disappointing, I know. We have deer here and I'm just waiting for them to find my gorgeous Hosta down by my mailbox.

I guess I could dig it up and put it in a pot and put it up on my deck. But I'm kinda running out of space out there with the grill,table and chairs, baby pool, and of coarse DH's hammock that takes up 1/3 of the deck.

Thumbie, I am so sorry. How disappointing is that. I am so grateful that we live where you can have electric fencing, otherwise everything here would be destroyed too. Deer graze in the pasture with the cattle and lick the salt blocks too. We have electric fencing all around the house/yard/garden area and so far it seems to work.

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Feel so bad for you Thumbie! The price you pay for living in such a beautiful place! The rabbits use to eat mine to the ground & remember how sad & shocked I felt! Quick you need ice cream or chocolate! Don't you let it get you down! You can't always grow exactly what you want to grow~~Remember? I heard hanging Lifeboy soap or playing a radio helped? I think an electric fence or spraying religiously with that Ropel is the only answer!
Bad Deer!!

Could you put chicken wire around your bush? The rabbits will eat anything sticking out of the wire though. We had to do tht one year..disgusting. Your rose, if protected, will shoot out new buds.

Sorry to hear about your roses, I've lost a lot of plants to deer. So far I'm having good results this year with sprinkling blood meal around my garden. The deer dislike the scent of it and stayed away for weeks. Came back the other day because I didn't add more after it rained so I guess I'll have to use it frequently. Friends have claimed that hanging CD's from the trees works also. And I may also get a few bars of Irish Spring soap: http://www.hydroponics-at-home.../deer-repellent.html

I think what really works well is an outside dog, unfortunately BTDT and not doing it again.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: joyluck,

I guess I'll try the Irish Spring soap and the Blood meal(if it ever stops raing).I won't have a dog, don't like them,even if it were an outside dog DH would make it an inside dog. Besides that if we were to have a dog tied up outside a bear could get it. A fence is out of the question.I'ld give up the garden first.

I do the CDs since we have young trees with low branches. It has kept them out of my beds but we can see tracks every now/then where they have walked by. I use fish line & swivels and hang 2, one below the other....both have swivels...at night they reflect the neighbor's night lights or my solar garden lights.

So sorry, Thumbie! I know how much I look forward to each thing blooming, and then when some critter puts it on their lunch menu, it's so maddening! We don't have deer here, but I feel your pain with the rabbits, voles and slugs we do have!! Hugs to you!!

Thanks Karen. Yes it is terribly dissapointing.I've only ever seen one rose bloom on this bush in the 6-7 years that I have had it. Oh well thats what I get for living in the woods.Moving would be another concideration....NOT!!! I'll try the soap,blood meal and cd's, and if that dosen't work, I'll give it to my daughter-in-law.

OH man that is disappointing! Do you like venison?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: zone9alady,

LOL z9 yes we do like venison, but there are no hunters in the house YET!

AWWWWWWW GEEEEEEZE, that darn deer came back last night and ate all the aziatic lily buds. I went right down to the store and bought 12 bars of Irish spring soap. The bloodmeal can wait since there is rain in the forcast every day for the nextweek. Going to gather up some cd's and lookd for a place to put them.

BT, they need to hang so they will reflect the lights at night. If you don't have a light source in that area get one or two of the cheap solar ones at Walmart.
If this will make sense...here is what I do!
I tie 2 CDs together (shiny out) with fishing line (25lb. test)...this is a short piece then I add a fishing line swivel with a longer piece attached to it...this is what I tie it up with...in a tree on a fence...just any place it can swing. They do better if you can tie another one onto the upper CD...same set up (with swivel) and they will turn independent & flash!
I've had a couple of folks stop & ask me why I had them & then they decided they were going to try them too...one was a substitute mail man. He had deer eating his veggies.

That makes perfect sense karen. I have the solar lights, now my problem is where to hang them since the trees are too far away and limbs are too high for me to reach anyway. I may have to put 1 or 2 of those iron planter hangers. I know I have at least 1. Thanks for the info.