One of the great spring events in Central Oregon is the Spring Gardening Seminar presented by Oregon State University Extension Service Master Gardeners. It is always held in April and consists of 13 90-minute classes. The choices are varied, with all material pertinent to our growing needs.

One question posed to a group of Master Gardeners was, “How could you, with all of your years of experience, learn anything new?” It would be a sad day when a person couldn’t learn something new, no matter the subject, or have their eyes opened a little wider to understand a problem or situation better. The same basic subjects may be presented each year, but with a different presenter, you learn something new, or what had been said in years past makes more sense.

In all of the classes I attended, either the first question or the last question asked was, “What plants are deer-proof?” Answer: none. It is better to ask, “What plants are deer-resistant?” But the answer isn’t easy.

Several months ago, I wrote about 2011 being the “year of the zinnia.” A gardener wrote me and felt I had done a disservice by not mentioning zinnias are like deer candy. I was taken aback, as I had seen them listed on the resistant list. He had a bad experience, I have not.

Likewise, there are my missing daffodils. I had been watching a patch of daffodils developing before I left for an inspiring visit to Sedona, Ariz. When I came back, I decided to check on them. Much to my surprise, about 10 plants had been chewed and partially lifted from the soil. Daffodils top the list of deer-resistant plants, but not this year — at least not in my yard.

I relayed my story to my neighbor who owns a landscaping business, and he replied with an even more perplexing story. Last season he planted a landscape using deer-resistant plants and unfortunately incurred deer damage in an amount he had not seen before.

What is the common denominator? Is the palate of the deer changing? Have we pulled out too many of the native plants, thereby reducing their natural food supply? Or are they like many of us who are just sick and tired of tasting the same old flavors day in and day out?

Deer cycles

Understanding the deer’s annual cycle helps give us the understanding of what is going on and when is the best time to use various controls. From January to April, the metabolism of deer slows, and they become less active to conserve energy. This is the toughest time for deer to survive. They require four to five pounds of food a day, so they will browse on any woody plant material.

From mid-April to June, does establish fawning territories. New mothers need seven to 10 pounds of food a day. During this time, the deer are frequently raiding gardens, targeting sprouting herbaceous plant materials, bulbs, emerging tree and shrub buds and tender woody shoots. The control should be to start spraying repellents before browsing begins.

From July to mid-August, the fawns are growing, and garden raids are common and predictable. The deer are eating mostly herbaceous material and occasionally woody plants. The control is to spray repellents weekly on herbaceous plants, monthly on woody plants. Over-fertilizing promotes the lush, tender growth that is so attractive to deer, so you might reconsider your fertilizing schedule.

During late August to September, bucks begin rubbing their antlers on trees and shrubs to shed the velvet. Courting rituals begin with the sexes segregating. Deer spend more time in the woods and spend less time raiding gardens. Place tree guards around the trunks of valuable new plants to protect them from bucks rubbing their antlers.

The rutting and breeding cycles are from October to December. The deer raid gardens again, feeding on mostly herbaceous material until a hard frost forces them to switch to woody plants. During this time you should be installing temporary fencing around important plants.

Keeping them away

The best strategy by far is fencing the entire garden or property, but it may not be a viable or an economical option. Maybe establishing a temporary fence or enclosure at the critical time is an answer. Last year I used empty wire hanging baskets turned over and pinned into the soil with homemade staples cut from hangers, to protect a special variety of heuchera.

The key to success with repellents is to start spraying before deer begin browsing and to change repellents frequently, which keeps the deer from getting used to one taste.

According to Jeff Gillman, author of “The Truth About Garden Remedies,” repellents containing putrescent egg solids (rotten eggs) seem to perform consistently better than others. Before considering an over-the-counter repellent, he suggests you at least consider a homemade repellent because they are likely to be just as effective as commercial repellents, though reapplication might need to be more frequent.

Deer generally don’t eat plants with coarse, bristly, fuzzy, thorny, or spiny textures, and they also dislike plants with intense aromas. Lavender has been very successful in keeping Bambi at bay. Marigolds are a good example of a strong taste that will almost always deter a deer’s visit. There are many, many lists of deer-resistant plant materials and it comes down to a matter of trial and error. What works for you may not work for me.

Deer won’t go over a barrier if they can’t see the other side. Use shrubs, trees, trellises or anything else you can think of in combination with a short fence that will confuse their line of vision. The plantings should be on the inside of the fenced area.

It is difficult for me to understand those people who intentionally provide food for the deer. It is a bad practice that makes them become reliant on humans as a food source and it certainly isn’t neighborly if your neighbor is trying to grow vegetables for the table.

There was an incident last spring involving the deaths of several fawns in an outlying subdivision. It was discovered that the fawns were eating cracked corn that was intended for birds. Apparently the fawn’s digestive system isn’t sufficiently developed to handle the cracked corn.

Deer are a wondrous sight to behold, but they shouldn’t be encouraged. I am sure my five resident deer, when they hear the sliding door open, must think, “Oh, here comes that crabby old lady, again ranting and raving.” Sometimes they high-tail it for the hill; other times they stand in a defiant stance that says “make me.”