I have a question about my Hydrangeas however I can't seem to find a forum for these. Is there one? If not, where would I ask my question?

You can ask it right here.

Ok here goes. My Hydrangeas used to look really nice even into early this month. Now, thanks to the deer that come into town nightly and love to come into my back yard and feed on them they don't look so healthy and I've moved them into my greenhouse to hopefully get them to recover. But, what is the best way to help them? In the first photo the furthest deer is munching down on my Hydrangea. The 2nd photo shows how they look now. I'd hate to lose them. The one in front looked this way in March. The other wasn't doing too bad either.

Do you have access to any garden centers that carry a root stimulant (It's typically called "Plant Starter")? If it has B1 vitamins in it, and something like a 3-10-3 fertilizer, it will help them recover faster. It gives them a broader root system, and gets new foliage pushing out. It works like a bandaid for stressed plants ..

Hi Victoria, do you think Lowes or Home Depot would have anything like that? I found this at Home Depot - http://www.homedepot.com/p/Bon... and found this at Lowes - http://www.lowes.com/pd_253046...

I'm not really sure. I know the best brand name is Bonide - and you can order it online. Either one of those products should work for you. They're practically the same thing. They're a very light fertilizer, but mostly a rooting vitamin that removes stress. It is typically used for transplant shock, but we often recommend using it when fighting disease or injury. We've had really good results with it.

The poor babies! Condolences. You might try using Milorganite to deter the deer. It's a fertilizer, not necessarily a deer repellant, but they do not like the smell. (Make sure to use gloves when applying.) Also, you can spray your plants with 1 gal water mixed with a couple tablespoons of hot sauce to perhaps prevent this from happening again. I would be cautious about fertilizing the half-eaten plants. Sometimes the new growth brought on by fertilizer can actually stress a damaged plant more. Hydrangeas will be going dormant soon, so fertilizing in August could mess with their schedule. It looks like you are in a very warm zone, though, so the dormancy schedule there may be later. Good luck!

I've been using Milorganite for a few years now on my Hibiscus and on the Hydrangeas this year when I noticed them coming around. The deer photo I posted above eating my Hydrangea is about two days after I applied it. It doesn't seem to bother them which is why I moved them into my greenhouse. They've also about stripped my large Hibiscus and my two smaller ones. The large one is still outside the smaller ones I also moved into the greenhouse to recover. I'm not sure either when they go dormant around here. The large one was just starting to bloom when I bought it in March. I guess the worst that can happen is that they die and I have to just start over but as the saying goes 'nothing ventured, nothing gained'.

I guess it takes a little more than a bad smell to deter a Texan deer.

Most certainly does Jessie. I've seen them in the yard behind us actually running our dogs on our side of the fence back and forth, playing with them.

Hydrangeas, while always hungry for some water in our daily 100-degree weather, are still tough plants. Depending on the plant itself, it may replace the damage with new growth once temperatures moderate or it mat delay things until Spring. Just keep the shrub away from deer as they like to much on all hydrangea varieties, except the hairy leaves one (maybe the leaves taste odd with the hair . You can also apply (ie spray) products to keep deer away but those have to be re-applied after it rains. And considering they are warning that El Nin~o rains will come back in the Fall, I am not sure if other solutions might be more useful (a strong chicken wire cage fat away from the leaves or dogs).

Thanks Luis, I've moved them back into my greenhouse for now along with my young Hibiscus they decided tasted good and so far they've stayed away. I've got a 'Trail Camera' that I've got setup in the back yard to see how many are grazing back there and it seems like they only come around every so often. Not nearly as bad as a few years ago when I had it setup in my front yard and they'd come around every night or even during the day to graze on all my plants. I'm going to go ahead and get some of the root stimulator and give it a try.

Oh, God. Every day? That would trigger my three "deer detectors" to bark like banshees!!!!

Chris, you'll need to use that root stimulant at least once a week for a month or longer, or it won't be effective. Just thought I'd mention that

Thanks Victoria, I think I'll head to Lowes today and see what I can find.

I feel your pain Chris they visit my yard nightly 2 big bucks and several smaller deer all come up and fest on my plants. They eat figs, mulberries, blackberries, elderberry, and many other plants in my yard even though we have a dog. I've even been outside and had one blow at me as if to say I was in his territory. The deer population is so high in SC they released coyotes and red wolves to control them, like we really needed wolves and coyotes. Now the coyotes have given up on deer and have started eating peoples livestock instead, who didn't see that one coming.

Wow Daniel, that is insane. Do you live within the city? What's happened here are a couple of things. The city is expanding so much that the developers are taking away a lot of their habitat forcing them to come into town to look for food and water. Then people see them in their yards so they start feeding them thinking it's real cute which only aggravates the problem because they go to other houses hoping to get fed also. The city won't do anything, I've even contacted Texas Parks and Wildlife about it, they say they can't do anything.

I'm out in the country neighboring a river so the deer population is a little higher here than in town, but throughout SC it's becoming a problem with no sings of improvement. The only real way to keep them out is with a 7ft fence, but that's way out of my budget so I have to live with them.

It's odd, I haven't caught any lately on my trail cam. I don't know if they're staying away for some reason or what. I've moved the two Hydrangeas and two small Hibiscus into the greenhouse but the large Hibiscus is still outside. I imagine they'll be back in the fall but hopefully by then I'll have everything put away.

Miracle Grow Quick Start is usually easy to find.