"Bill Oliver" wrote in message
...
Does this mean that if the deer keep eating the tulips when they
are green, they will stop coming up?

billo

By observation I've found that tulips that are eaten off one year will send
up vegetative growth the second year with fewer flowers. If they are eaten
off the second year, most don't appear the third year, but the ones that do
survive the deer attack and send up vegetative growth will flower the
following year if left unmolested.

The deer seem to browse the buds and flower more than the leaves, which
might account for survival after a couple years of browsing.

As an aside, deer also browse lilies and seem to prefer the scented trumpet
and orientals over the asiatics. They don't browse the foliage but select
the flowers and buds. I think the scent from the flowers of both tulips and
lilies is what attracts them.

John