For the first time I am having a severe problem with deer eating the buds off my daylilies. On some plants every single set of buds on the stems has been eaten off--it's enough to make a grown woman cry!!! Can someone tell me if these plants will produce more scapes and buds this year, or will I have to wait till next year to see any flowers on them? Thanks for your input!

If they are rebloomers you may get another batch of scapes to form. If not, you will have to wait until next year.

Not very likely, and regrettably I have much experience with this.

Hi Pink,
I'm so sorry they got you. It's heartbreaking.

I am assuming the advice that your daylilies will not rebloom is based on the fact that in your area you would just not get much if any rebloom anyhow. The fact that the deer ate the original buds I don't think would have any effect on the rebloom. I just want to mention that in case someone further south that would normally get rebloom might think that because the first buds and scapes were eaten the plant would not generate a second rebloom crop of scapes, buds and blooms. Actually, I wonder if the deer or anything eating the first "flush" of buds would actually allow the plant to have a better chance at rebloom (I don't know), just the thought crossed my mind.

If the deer haven't eaten down past the lowest bract, don't give up on that scape because I've seen daylilies put out a sideways branch with new buds from the node when the upper part has been eaten.

Rabbits have eaten about 3/4 of the scapes off my new daylilies , but this thread gives me a small amount of hope that maybe I'll still get a few sideways scape branches or rebloom scapes .
On one plant they also ate most of the leaves so I just hope that one survives.
Consider myself to be a nature/animal lover but my continuous ongoing battle to defend my daylilies is transforming me

What kind of rabbits do you have? I have cottontails and jack rabbits, but neither bother the daylilies - or at least they never have so far. I quit trying to grow daylilies for a number of years because of deer, though.

I am fairly certain that a resident pair of Brown Thrashers (birds) have been cracking off the tops of some scapes (laying on ground right beneath the scape), not to mention making a mess of the bark (hence their name).

But Cottontails are the most likely culprit for these buds that have been eaten. They have been rampant in my general area. Two years ago a group of hunters visited my neighbor's place across the street and in 1 hour had 26 rabbits bagged. Not that bad now, in fact I've only seen one or two at my place lately-- but that is all it takes...

It could be that deer ate the buds, or both rabbits and deer, but normally I can see the deer tracks.

My motion-activated sprinkler seems to be effective protecting one area, so I may try moving it from spot to spot. Also re-sprayed deer repellent on everything (not sure how long I can keep doing that since that stuff is so expensive). And will probably put down more blood meal and milorganite.

I'm considering building a 10' block wall, and a moat, around my entire place but the cost of putting in the drawbridge is holding me back...

I am so sorry for those who have lost so many buds, or outright scapes! I know very well what that feels like. I get hit every year, and the damage this year was extreme. (We had to go out of town at just the right (for the deer) time... With no dog to discourage them...)

I am surprised, Dennis, that you think the rabbits have been attacking your scapes. How did you come to that conclusion?

I say these things because I am plagued with both rabbits and deer. I get tons of deer damage - and it is clearly deer - to my daylilies. The rabbits run around and through the clumps of daylilies, but (except perhaps for an experimental leaf munching or two) never bothered them.

I must point out, however, that deer also eat daylily foliage. I have one clump of daylilies, 'Bunny Eyes', which I have not seen bloom on for literally years, because the deer keep munching the foliage on that particular clump. Spray or no spray! It must be deer ambrosia! I am finally going to dig and pot it this year, and put the pot in our fenced side yard.

I am surprised about the thrashers breaking the tops of the scapes. One year I had some visiting thrashers who made a mess of scattered mulch as they (apparently) went about in search of slugs and snails. I don't think they ever broke any scapes, though. Wow.

As for leaving the scapes on, in hope of sideways branches with buds growing out from the lower bracts.... Wow, that's another thing that I had never heard of. Sometimes the deer will leave a tiny bud or two left on a scape, so I leave the scape on the plant to grow the bud(s) (every bloom is precious!), but I have never observed anything coming out of the lower bracts. Maybe this is climate specific, or needs some particular cultural practice to encourage?

On a couple of occasions I've seen the Thrashers appear to attempt to land on the scapes, and so I thought that was maybe how the scapes were being cracked off. The buds just lay there on the ground so apparently nothing attempting to eat buds is doing this. Not 100% sure on the cause...

I thought that rabbits liked daylily buds, and I've seen a couple rabbits around, plus I have not seen deer tracks near the daylilies. So I just assumed it was rabbits. I'll look more closely for deer tracks, I'll probably find some...

I think homeowner insurance policies should cover the damage to plants, and health insurance should pay for professional psychological treatment for the emotional trauma. PTSD is a real threat in these situations. I'm also looking to see if there is a local Deer Victims Support Group near me!

Polymerous said:

As for leaving the scapes on, in hope of sideways branches with buds growing out from the lower bracts.... Wow, that's another thing that I had never heard of. Sometimes the deer will leave a tiny bud or two left on a scape, so I leave the scape on the plant to grow the bud(s) (every bloom is precious!), but I have never observed anything coming out of the lower bracts. Maybe this is climate specific, or needs some particular cultural practice to encourage?

It may be cultivar specific, or related to timing. Perhaps it depends if the remaining bract would have produced a side-branch in any case. I haven't looked into it that thoroughly but will observe more carefully this year, although for the most part the deer eat down below the lowest bract anyway in which case there's no hope for that scape. I use a deer repellent so don't usually lose many daylily buds.

I looked at some unchewed scapes yesterday and noticed that some had the beginnings of a budded branch emerging from a lower bract axil. On another one (a close to species type) that had been chewed, all buds gone but with branches and bracts remaining, the scape is dying back so that one isn't going to do it. I have seen it happen though, and it looks pretty weird with the flowers all on a single sideways branch and nowhere else but they're flowers I wouldn't have got if I'd cut off the scape .

I think the bottom line is that if the scape isn't eaten down past the first bract then you've nothing to lose by leaving it for a while to see if it will branch.

Sue, I wish I had known this earlier. I took out the garden scissors a week ago and trimmed all the bud eaten scapes to the ground! Good luck to all that are fighting critters. We need it.

Grrr. I found deer damage in several parts of my beds today. Even a large pod that was mostly gone.
I covered the remaining pods today in net bags and tomorrow will put out milorganite.