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Probably the most frequently asked question about native plants in Hill Country nurseries is, “Do deer eat it?” If the answer is yes, the usual response is, “Then I can’t buy that plant for my yard.” Jan Wrede, Boerne naturalist and conservationist, agrees that the question is good, but argues that the response is wrong.
Wrede’s reasoning is that browsing by deer has drastically reduced the natural populations of some of our most attractive native shrubs, trees, and flowers. Therefore, in the interest of the conservation of those vanishing Hill Country natives, the ones we should plant are the ones the deer prefer to browse.
Wrede extolls the attributes of several “priority” plants which need special consideration because of their dwindling numbers. Among her list of priority native shrubs that would be good landscape plants are black dalea (Dalea frutescens), palmetto (Sabal minor), canyon mock orange (Philadelphus ernestii), false indigo (Amorpha fruticosa), hawthorn (Crategus spp.), spicebush (Lindera benzoin), sycamore-leaf snowbell (Styrax platanifolius), Texas mulberry (Morus microphyllia), and witch hazel (Hamamelius virginiana).
Wrede’s priority native trees include American smoketree (Continus obovatus), Blanco crabapple (Malus ioensis var. texensis), bigtooth maple (Acer grandidentatum var. sinuosum), escarpment black cherry (Prunus serotina var. eximia), and Texas madrone (Arbutus xalapensis).
Excellent photos and descriptions of all these natives are included in Wrede’s new book “Trees, Shrubs, and Vines of the Texas Hill Country.”
During the past several years, we have planted all the native shrubs and trees mentioned above on our lot. They are interesting and attractive additions to our landscape plants, and they grow in fairly poor soil with no fertilizer and limited irrigation. Besides that, we can feel good that we might be helping to sustain species that are disappearing from the Hill Country.
Of course, if these native plants are declining because of deer browsing, our neighborhood is a danger zone for them, almost ground zero. Our subdivision is way over populated with whitetail deer, not to mention the ever-increasing axis deer. Consequently, very little is planted in our yard without a wire-fence enclosure (maybe “exclosure” would better describe its function).
Sure, I know cages for shrubs and trees are repugnant to many home gardeners. It is, however, either have an exclosure or don’t have the plant. We chose wirefence cages, and after a while we enjoyed the plants without even noticing the cages.
Usually I make exclosures with 2 x 4 welded wire (mostly 4-feet high). It’s among the less-expensive fencing, and once the new shine is off the wire, the cages hardly show up (at least to me). I also used the green-coated 2 x 4 welded-wire fence to try to make some frontyard cages more respectable. But now I see the green wire instead of the shrub. I like the cheaper wire. I’m designing, in my mind, an enclosure that is close to invisible by using narrow-gauge steel wire.
I hope that gradually the conventional concept of a nice landscape will allow for caged native plants and every Hill Country yard will use exclosures for those plants deer love to munch. In the meantime, let’s all eat a lot more venison!
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