[meth]

Need some help guys - I have some large yews that are approx. 18 years old. They are mature and shaped nicely, until this winter that is. We never had problems with Deer until now - for some reason this year they have eaten them bare - will they gro back? Do I need to pull them out? It would be a shame since they are so mature and nice in the setting we have them. Plus after all this time it would be a hell of a job to get them out.

Any advice as to whether they will survive? If they do I will wrap them each winter going forward to protect them

 

[gma2rjc]

If they've only eaten the 'needles', you should be fine. Even if they've eaten parts of some of the branches, you might still be okay. Twice every summer I trim all the needles off the bottom half of the two yew's in front of my house. They always grow back . Can you post a picture of the damage?

 

[Bob Mariani]

if this is a mature plant it is best to replace them. These grow very slowly and it will look like an eyesore for many years to come.

 

[gma2rjc]

IMHO, at the very least you should give the trees a couple months of nice weather and see how they do. During that time, make sure they have enough water and call a local nursery to ask if you should also include some diluted fertilizer under the trees to give them a little extra boost. When you call, ask for the manager of the store and get his/her opinion as to whether or not they think the trees will survive.

 

[meth]

Thanks for the replies - I will try to post some pics over the weekend. These are mature bushes - 15+ years, so I hate to pull them out, first of all because of the work and secondly because of the expense! A few of them pretty bare at this point, needles are completely gone. I called a tree company and they recommened a "deep root" fertilizer treatment a couple of time throughout the summer and thought they may come back in the next year or two, but it would be slow growth and look bare for a while. The cost of the fertilzer treatment is a couple of hundred bucks, while expensive it is still far less than replacing.

 

[dave11]

Not sure if the original poster is still following, but if so, you'd need to intervene permanently with the deer, or they'll eat them again. Deer make circuits through neighborhoods, and they remember where they got a good meal. Yews are deer candy, they love them. I'm surprised they haven't eaten them before now, but deer populations are increasing, and with the time of year, they might be under feeding pressure.

Fencing, or deer repellants, would be the next step. Otherwise, your money spent might be wasted.

 

[meth]

Thanks - I plan on a prevention plan going forward as I fully expect them to come back. Since the snow melt there has been no sign of them as I assume the food is more readily available elsewhere.