Cherry Tree and Tulips in Protective Custody
This is one of the cherry trees in our front yard, photographed at the height of its bloom on May 26, 2016. Since the tulips growing around its base were at full bloom as well, I just think it is a nice picture. You can click on it to see it at higher resolution if you like.
“So”, I hear you say, “What’s with the cage? Are you afraid they are going to escape or something?”
Well, yes. Cherry trees are practically impossible to keep at home. They go tomcatting all around the area, particularly during blooming season, and their aggressive tendencies lead to no end of trouble with the neighbors. And, of course, tulips are just a bunch of little thugs that crave blood, and have to be kept confined to keep them from attacking . . .
No? Not buying that?
Well, Ok. The real reason is the deer[1]. This is a protective custody situation. For whatever reason, a freshly-planted fruit tree is like candy to deer. It doesn’t matter how many other mature fruit trees there are around it, or how close it is to the house, or how hard it is to spot, the deer will find a young fruit tree within days of it being planted. And then they will strip off
every.
single.
leaf.
Even if this doesn’t kill the tree outright, it will usually set it back so badly that the grafted part dies back over the winter, leaving you with nothing but whatever kind of knurly rootstock the nursery had originally used to support the graft[2]. We find that a 4-foot diameter circle of heavy-gauge woven-wire fence, supported by steel T-posts, is enough to discourage the deer and save the tree from their depredations. It is OK if they nip off the ends of the branches where they hang over the fence, just so long as they don’t get to the main core of the tree.
Which brings us to the tulips. Deer don’t kill the entire tulip plant. They just love, love, love the blossoms[3], though. And once they bloom, the deer just nip off the whole reason why you planted tulips in the first place. So, since we already had these deer-protected zones around the fruit trees, Sandy figured what the heck, we might as well plant the tulips there, at least.
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[1] Deer are very pretty when you spot them at a distance, frolicking in the neighbor’s field. But when they are right there in your yard, stripping your new fruit trees down to bare sticks, it tends to lead to a certain alteration in one’s feelings about them.
[2] If you plant the seeds of most types of fruit trees, it is pretty much unknown as to what kind of tree you’re going to get. So the standard procedure is to start trees from seed provided by a parent that is known for its good root development. And then once the seedlings get big enough, chop off the top and graft on a branch from a known variety of tree in its place. The graft point is usually about 6 inches to a foot above ground, so if the tree dies back to below that point, all you’ve got is the random rootstock and not the nice fruit tree that they said you were getting at the nursery. So you don’t want that to happen.
[3] As it turns out, though, they evidently hate daffodils. So we can grow all the daffodils we want. And field lilies, peonies, dasies, and any number of other flowers that deer are at least indifferent to, if not actively repulsed by. Just not tulips.
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I felt like leaving an ALL CAPS comment agreeing with your assessment of the Tulip Menace, but I managed to fight the urge.
🙂
As for the deer, my folks have a similar problem. The local San Diego Mule Deer love rose buds and rose flowers. My mom’s prize roses can be completely decapitated in the night.
Having said that, I don’t think it’s the fault of the deer. I THINK THEY’RE INFLUENCED BY TULIPS WHO WANT TO DESTROY ALL THAT’S RIGHT AND GOOD IN THE WORLD …
Whoops! Sorry about that.