If you’re like most gardeners, you probably have at least a few four o’clock flowers in your yard. Four o’clock flowers are beautiful flowers that add a touch of elegance to any garden. But do deer eat four o’clock flowers?
Deer do not usually eat four o’clock flowers. Four o’clocks are deer-resistant because of their strong scent and bitter taste. But a hungry deer will eat almost anything, including four o’clocks.
Considering that a single deer can eat up to ten pounds of plants each day, you can see how deer eating four o’clock flowers can really do some serious damage to your garden!
In this article, we’ll discuss how to stop deer from eating your four o’clock flowers, and keep them healthy and beautiful all season long.
Why Do Deer Eat Four O’Clocks?
As we covered, deer usually stay away from four o’clock flowers thanks to their strong scent and bitter taste.
Deer are most likely to eat four o’clock flowers during spring because they’re hungry after a long winter, or if it’s late in fall and other food sources have been depleted.
Your four o’clock flowers are less susceptible to deer damage later in summer when many other food sources they prefer are available.
Deer can do some serious damage to a large amount of four o’clocks in a single sitting if they’re hungry enough!
This was confirmed in a 1999 study on deer plant eating habits by Cornell University.
And don’t think that your newer four o’clock flowers are safer either: deer actually prefer new growth because they’re more tender.
Are Four O’clock Flowers Deer Resistant?
Four o’clock flowers are regarded as deer resistant thanks to their taste and scent, both of which deer do not like.
The bitter taste of the flowers and leaves usually keep deer away.
Deer have a keen sense of smell, and the strong scent of four o’clock flowers also repels them.
As we mentioned earlier, just because four o’clock flowers are deer resistant doesn’t mean they are completely safe from being eaten by deer.
You should always take additional steps to deter deer from your four o’clocks and other plants and flowers.
Read on to learn more.
How Do I Keep Deer From Eating My Four O’clock Flowers?
There are a few things to keep in mind when you’re protecting four o’clock flowers from hungry deer: their habits, your scent, repellent options, and when you plant them.
Deer will eat nearly anything if they’re hungry enough, so your main goal is making your garden as least inviting to deer as possible.
Check out our guide on how to keep deer from eating plants where we cover 25 quick and easy tips for keeping hungry deer out of your garden.
Will My Four O’Clocks Grow Back After Deer Eat Them?
Fortunately, four o’clock flowers can bounce back from browsing by deer if given some care, attention, and time.
Four o’clocks are considered perennials in warm climates, meaning they’ll come back each season, sprouting tubers that overwinter underground.
So unless a deer ate your flowers all the way down to the ground including the tubers, they should grow back. The next year.
Do Deer Eat Four O’Clock Flowers? Wrapping Things Up
So, do deer eat four o’clock flowers?
Not usually, but they will if they’re hungry enough.
Deer will usually stay away from four o’clock flowers, but may eat them during spring when they’re hungry after a long winter or in late fall when other food sources have been depleted.
Have any observations to add to the discussion? Be sure to let us know in the comments below.
Check our our other helpful wildlife guides while you’re here:
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