I feel your pain, Carey. Ours are in an area we call the "Main Garden" and it has electric fencing around it. In 2009, the deer munched nearly all the daylilies we had in there, so in 2010, we bit the bullet and did the electric fence--not pretty, but definitely effective.

I've been fortunate enough to not have a deer problem this year. Although I know that 1 or 2 are sleeping under a large oak tree in my yard that has branches that nearly reach the ground. I see the hoof marks and the smoothed out area where they lay down. Maybe they're thanking me for the safe haven by not molesting my plants.

I guess I could just do the pepper spray - maybe if they think they're awful tasting from day 1 they would leave them alone? Maybe?

Deer browsing can absolutely drive a person crazy, especially in drought years when they may eat anything. I can tell you that so far, the deer have never touched our salvias, Georgia savory ( calamintha) and rosemary because foliage is " fragrant" or oderifous--also chrysthemums. A fragrant shrub we have that they won't eat is Lonicera fragrantissa, the winter honeysuckle. I plan to put up a post on this one. One fragrant plant we have they do eat is moonflower vine, and this is supposed to be a no-no for deer, but they will eat it here. They definitely eat tuberose buds, so now ours are protected by the electric fence.

My tuberoses are usually one of the last potted plants to bloom outside (usually September). They are a focus for activity in the fall. One year the dominant predator was a small frog, last year it was a mantis.

Oh the deer were eating everything last year - lantana, cast iron plant, sages, salvias...didn't touch the iris though, but then they didn't bloom either. This spring the cutworms/armyworms were so bad it was a losing battle for most of my plants. I gave up on my veggie bed because of them.

Okay, learn something new all the time. We have lantana camorra, unprotected, and I thought it was pretty deer-proof, evidently not.

The interesting part was they left my ruellia alone all through the hot dry summer last year, and chewed it down this year during the weeks we were dry. Deer are weird creatures.

Went out into the Main Garden today, and spotted some new bloom stalks on a few of the tuberoses. Don't know if they will have a chance to mature, but it was a nice surprise. I think the cooler weather and some rain is the reason for this.

One of the tuberoses is blooming now, but we are supposed to have a cold front come through tomorrow and that may take out the blooms, will have to wait and see. I am going out of state in the morning, my mother has had a stroke and may not survive. Don't know when I will be back, and there are no computers where I will be, so can't do any replies until I return. My husband will have to give me the tuberose report, so I'll know how they did in the cold

So sorry to hear about your mother Avedon. Have a safe trip and may God be with you and your family.

Just wanted to take time to send along a couple of pictures of our tuberoses in bloom now. Evidently, the cooler or colder weather did not phase these few that seem to be very strong bulbs.



I see one must click on the picture to get the full shot of this one. This flower stalk is in the Main Garden to the west of our house. It is behind an electric fence because of the deer.






Also in the Main Garden, I am going out to stake up these, prefer them upright than almost on the ground




This is a tall stalk that is planted on the northwest of our house. We put this in as an experiment to see if it would grow. It usually puts up one big stalk this time of year.

OK, I need help here. I chickened out and dug up my tuberoses before the frost gets them in a few of weeks. I had the large clump in the ground and the smaller one in a pot. The small potted clump bloomed several months ago, but the one in the ground didn't. Both clumps were starting to look a little ratty. I thought it was because they were going dormant as the temps here are cooling down with nights in the upper 40s to 50s. However, seeing yours in bloom now makes me wonder if I dug them up too soon. So, I'll take a chance and plant the smaller clump in the ground to see if it will overwinter. Do you think this is a good idea or should I wait until spring to plant them?

Deborah, I would plant in the ground only if I wanted to take a chance to see if the bulbs will survive. If you do this, make sure to mulch them, will have a better chance to make it through the winter. Try for good drainage, too, don't want them staying wet and maybe rotting. Otherwise, wait until spring and then put them in the ground. I see we are in the same 8a zone, but there is always that micro-climate thing, so it doesn't mean we would have the same results. Good Luck.

Thanks and yes I'm taking a chance on a small clump. I will mulch them well. But one more question, how deep should they be planted? I see a lot of small bulbs near the surface when I dug them up.

Deborah, I checked several sites, and the consensus seems to be plant them 2 inches deep. I believe ours are planted about 1 1/2 to 2 inches. In the spring. we are going to have to dig up and replant a number of our clumps that didn't do well this year, see if that will help.

Another year with no blooms for me. I have them in a variety of spots - some sun, some shade, some split, some left in place to clump up - but none.

Thanks, Avedon. I hope that they survive, but if not, I'll still have the ones that I dug up.

Dianne, sorry you have had no luck with the tuberoses. I was out in the Main Garden this evening and the fragrance from the few tuberoses we have blooming is just wonderful. Now a cold front is coming through and the temp is supposed to drop about 20 degrees over the next day. I can only wonder how the tuberoses are going to do after this, will post a message. Deborah, we can all compare notes next year about how the tuberoses fared, hope it's only good news.

OK. Mine are safely tucked in.