Wildlife biologist Matt Ross recommends this shrub for whitetails. Plant these near bedding areas lacking cover and along stream bottoms. Six year old plants can produce as many as 1,200 nuts.įavorite habitat is wooded hills and bottoms. Deer eat the nut (similar to a small chestnut), as well as the twigs and leaves. You’ll get dense thickets as these spread. Plant them close to travel routes, field edges and natural clearings. They thrive near swamps, streams, damp areas and the edge of woods. Coyotes also eat the plums, providing an alternate food source that might satisfy their hunger and make them eat fewer fawns. Favored by deer as a food source in their fruits and twigs, they also offer terrific low-growing cover. Lindsay Thomas, editor of QDMA’s Quality Whitetails, recommends this as one of the best shrubs of all for wildlife. Many shrubs will benefit deer and other wildlife, but here are a few good ones to try. You also can make enclosures out of chicken wire to surround the shrubs and prevent the deer from eating them until you decide the time is right. The answer to that is simple: Try one or more of the many available commercial deer repellents, available at until the shrubs are established and growing enough to be fed upon. In fact, your biggest problem might be them eating too many shrubs and wiping them out. Many will also spread after they take hold.ĭeer may eat the leaves, buds, flowers, fruits or stems. You can put anywhere from several dozen to 100 with a solid morning’s work. Shrubs can be purchased as seedlings for very reasonable prices or in larger sizes from nurseries in containers. A handful of shrubs will do the trick, providing leaves, tender twigs, buds, and, in some cases, fruits for the animals to snack on. A sprinkling of shrubs filling in open spots might get them there sooner, in time for a clean shot.Ī bedding area might be good except for having no tidbits for animals to browse on until they head out for major feed areas. Another spot might need a 120- by 30-foot row to encourage animals to use it.Ī staging area might be appealing but too “thin” for mature bucks to use until late. One area might be decent for whitetails, but just need a few shrubs to fill it out. Vary the number and arrangement of shrubs you plant according to the specific situation. They also are great to put along field edges, staging areas, potential travel corridors and food plots that are a bit too open for mature animals to want to approach during shooting light. I’ve seen 4-year old bucks hole up in pockets of shrubs I planted where bedding cover was previously scarce. Putting in a variety of shrubs provides high quality food and also cover that makes whitetails, rabbits, quail and pheasants feel more secure. But there are plenty of other projects you can do to attract deer, turkey and other wildlife to your property. Shrubs can help improve food plots and enhance deer habitatĮvery deer hunter today knows the value of food plots.
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