BY SKEETER
The first Magnolia tree here in my Georgia Gardens has been doing great this past year. Well, until now. Look what I woke up to this morning!
Limbs stripped from the center down on my beloved Little Gem!
My first thought was those darn squirrels. Upon closer examination, we do not think this damage is from a squirrel. The bark is too rubbed off the small trunk.
Odd scratches from the side of the trunk.
And this deep print in the dirt below, have us thinking on another course.
Note: I tried for a better pic of the Buck but he would not come out of the woods for a photo op. He was after a nearby Doe. Bet we have more babies next spring...
UPDATE: January 2017
In response to a new comment, I decided to add a little update to my original posting about the deer and Magnolia tree...
As you can see, the Magnolia tree is still with me today. Not only did the deer strip the lower limbs and scrap the bark of the tree, squirrels have been an issue as well. The deer used the tree as a marker for their sent by rubbing their antlers on it twice! And then squirrels started to climb the tree and eat the blooms while in their budding stage.
Since we enjoy the critters within our gardens, we try to live in harmony. So instead of Annie grabbing her gun and shooting the creatures on the earth, she instead tries to balance things a bit. I have found a way to keep the squirrels at bay with a stove pipe around the trunk. This worked well for the Crabapple tree and now it flourishes. I also squirt a bit of "Liquid Fence" in the area to ward off the deer.
As you can see, the limbs from the deer destruction back in Oct. 2012 never grew back. Hopefully in time the Magnolia Tree or Topiary as I now call it, will thrive. But for now, she just chugs along ever so slowly. It is never a dull moment in my Georgia Gardens with the wildlife.
Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden
Glad the mystery was solved. That's a nice photo of the buck even if he is hiding out behind trees.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week ~ FlowerLady
oh deer !
ReplyDeleteIt's time to cage up that beautiful magnolia. That deer needs to find a better tree to rub his antlers and let your magnolia be!
ReplyDeletePoor magnolia, loved you got a photo of the deer!!
ReplyDeleteYup, me thinks it was the buck and babies there will be! The tree will probably be okay if the buck finds a better tree to destroy.
ReplyDeleteSorry about your lovely tree. Hope it will be ok. Good pic of buck hiding. He'll be a papa in the spring.
ReplyDeleteHey all. I do hope this tree will make a come back for me. It has been slow to take due to the drought, heat, etc. Maybe a good year of normal weather will help it along....
ReplyDeleteCage the magnolia (and by the way - magnolias are my favorite) and eat the deer. :)
ReplyDeleteCage the magnolia (my favorite tree) - eat the deer! :)
ReplyDeleteSkeeter, They did the same to one of my magnolias...I was worried it would die, but, so far so good. I hope your survives, too.
ReplyDeleteMaybe he just thought it needed limbing up! :0)
ReplyDeleteSorry to see the damage. We keep a 32" high wire fence around the base of our magnolia (and deodar cedar) -- year round!
ReplyDeleteOh, man. Deer I do not have to deal with in the garden. Although, we hit one with our pickup recently. Minor bumper damage but not good for the deer. Hope your tree recovers.
ReplyDeleteOh no. He must like your Little Gem!
ReplyDeleteOh deer in deed! I read somewhere that planting garlic near trees keeps deer away (this might be true only for fruit trees, I am not sure... also, I am not sure it will keep them from rubbing their antlers on the trees...)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.flowersforums.com/ruth/blog/
we recently had the same thing happen to our little gems. The deer broke branches on one and completely demolished the other!
ReplyDeleteWe just had the same thing happen to our little gems. One the deer broke off an area of branches and the other they completely destroyed!
ReplyDeletewe recently had the same thing happen to our little gems. The deer broke branches on one and completely demolished the other!
ReplyDeleteSame thing happened to me! Does anyone know if the limbs will regrow??
ReplyDeleteHow is your Little Gem. Did it recover? I woke to a similar site this mornong ... My horses ate the leaves and small branches off 5' up around bottom of my 14 year BBB!
ReplyDeleteHello Julie. You have inspired me into writing an update on the Little Gem. As you can see, it continues to grow but oh so slowly....
DeleteThey are slow growers for sure. Glad it's doing well! Can I assume the bottom neverctried to grow back?
DeleteHow is your Little Gem? I woke to a similar site this morning. My horses ate the leaves and some small branches 5' up all the way around my 14 year old BBB. I'm wondering if they will grow back or if it will always be open around the bottom now.
ReplyDeleteThe critters we love to see in our gardens can sometimes become pests. I am glad you found a non violent solution to your critter problems. Those trees will grow up and be beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI love animals a bit more than my gardens thus, we do what we can to keep a balance...
DeleteSo glad it is doing well. Durned wildlife! I have to put protectors on my small trees due to the deer rubbing. The squirrels have not been so much of a problem. I love my little Gem magnolia and so far it is doing well. I got it at McCorkles with you!
ReplyDeleteSo glad your little Gem is doing well. The scent of your hounds may keep certain wildlife at bay. Lucky you as I don't have that luxury. And NO, I don't care to adopt any of those furry buds either. LOL. Living in the middle of woods, we do what we can to keep things happy...
DeleteI'm glad your Little Gem is still growing. My BBB wasx4 ft tall when I planted it. Now 14 years old.
ReplyDeleteYou can buy a product, originally developed in Sweden for tree farms, called Plantskydd, which is safe to use and will repel deer, rabbits and moose. I paint my pear and apple trees with it every fall and never have any trouble. It is made from slaughter house offal and convinces the animals there's a predator around so it's not for vegans but it does work very well without harming the animals in any way.
ReplyDelete