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Old 17-03-2014, 06:32 PM posted to alt.home.lawn.garden,alt.home.repair
Frank Frank is offline
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Dec 2012
Posts: 283
Default Attack on cherry tree

On 3/17/2014 8:36 AM, Frank wrote:
On 3/17/2014 8:25 AM, micky wrote:
I hope you'll bear with me, confirm or contradict my assumptions, and
answer any questions you have answers for.

I planted a cherry tree almost a year ago, and actualy got about 20
cherries from it soon after Memorial Day. I was hoping for a lot more
this year.

This winter, we had lots of snow in Baltimore (and everywhere else , for
that matter) and for the first time I noticed what seemed like deer
tracks in the snow, though they weren't perfect (which I attributed to
melting, not to being a non-deer.) and I also saw something was eating
the bark on the tree, about 1/4 o the circumference. Is that
enough to kill the tree?? or to kill branches that start on the same
side that the bark is gone from????

I have an end-of group townhouse with a small yard, and a 46" picket
fence. I know that it's nothing for a deer, even a baby deer?, to jump
over the fence, but I've never seen one inside the fence or found deer
tracks. (I see lots a block away, but I don't even see them right
outside the fence, except a couple times in 10 years)

There was no trunk knawing during the summer or fall. Is the recent
bark eating because the snow covered other food and it was looking for
something new and easy to eat that was above the snow?????

Would that imply that I'm relatively safe as long as there is no snow on
the ground??


The tree came with a coil of white plastic around the trunk, that
covered about 12 inches of trunk. I left it on and the dear ate from
the part above the plastic. I have another coil from another tree
that died, so I put that on now, covering 2 feet of trunk, all of the
trunk below the first limb,

Do you think that is enough to stop the deer, or will it push the
plastic aside, or eat from trunk above the limb (which might be harder
to get at.) ?????

OTOH, God didn't make trees with plastic covers. Will the tree be
missing out on something if I leave that cover on for years to come?????


Is it possible the bark will grow back??

Thanks.


Sounds like a rabbit problem to me and enough trunk wrap would have
prevented it. Rabbits will gnaw around a tree eating its bark when that
is all they can get when ground is covered with snow. Obviously they
will be gnawing low at the height of the snow line.

Deer don't chew the bark off trees but a buck would tear it up polishing
his antlers but not on a small tree. If they eat anything it might be
small tender twigs. Wrap will not protect the tree from deer and
fencing or fenced netting around the tree is required. Local park tried
to reforest a field and while trees were wrapped, only about half
survived damage by bucks.

Netting or fence should be six feet or more to keep out deer. You may
have had one in your yard but I suspect a rabbit caused your problem.


I recall I uploaded this video my wife took of deer feeding in my front
yard while I was off deer hunting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnBxKALmpPU

When deer eat evergreens they are hard up for food.
They are also eating the ivy under the bushes.
Some people hate ivy because it is evasive.
At my house it is tough to grow anywhere but right next to the house.