Year-round bushes for deer browsing
Contributors to this thread:Wisconsin
From: Rookie
27-Apr-18
I'm currently in Ireland, and they have bush fences everywhere. It got me thinking, does anyone know of a bush species that deer could feed on all year? It could also be somewhat of a funnel.
From: Rookie
27-Apr-18
From: sagittarius
27-Apr-18
Wild american plum, hazelnut, elderberry, highbush cranberry, june berry,
From: Live2hunt
27-Apr-18
Ireland? Boy, talk about gettin turned around turkey hunting.
From: DoorKnob
27-Apr-18
Deer love Cornus sericea, syn. C. stolonifera, Swida sericea, (red osier/red-osier/red osier dogwood) they browse it year round, it grows like a weed and stands up well to browsing.
From: PB in WI
27-Apr-18
Make sure what you introduce is not an invasive species. A while ago someone asked on here about planting wild olive/autumn olive for deer cover. From my perspective on battling this at my house that is a big mistake. Invasive species, by definition, will take over anywhere they exist.
From: longspeak74
27-Apr-18
Really depends on the type of conditions you've got. Dogwoods are great for wet areas, such as marsh edges but don't do that well in super dry spaces. Also, like others have said - keep an eye out for invasives. Honeysuckle (Lonicera) is an invasive while Bush Honeysuckle (Diervilla) isn't. Take a look at Serviceberry's...native to Wisconsin.
From: South Farm
27-Apr-18
Just crack the shoot on the old gravity wagon an inch and slowly drive along, no need to go through all the work of actually growing something!
From: lame crowndip
27-Apr-18
Wild plum is an invasive species by my estimation. I've been battling the stuff since we bought the land in 92. The roots are not easy to kill and the seeds seem to be viable for a looong time. When we bought the place there were a lot of wild plum trees that were 5 to 6 inches in diameter and 15 feet tall. The tops intertwine and you just haven't lived til you've spent a couple days cutting and wrenching the stuff apart. The thorns will penetrate a tractor tire (or so I've heard)
From: sagittarius
27-Apr-18
Wild american plum does not have thorns. Thorny crabapple, and hawthorns do, possibly some ornamental hybrids? My wild plum spread by root suckers. All manor of wildlife eat the fruits very fast. Of all the highly prefered deer browse, established wild plum regenerates the fastest. Deer browse it year round even a few feet away from lush soybeans, corn, or white clover.
From: Rookie
28-Apr-18
The area is completely wooded, old growth oak. Sandy soil.