Where White Cedar grows.

[KEC]

Over the years, I've noticed some places where White Cedar grows (not planted by people). These are places where gravel was removed and they left steep slopes of gravely earth (glacial till, I think). And, they don't show much sign of deer browsing. Can any of you guys offer any explanation ? Most of the W. Cedar here was planted and the deer browse it leaving browse lines.

[Jeff]

My perspective from years in the u.p.  Deer dont eat cedar in the summer, but in the winter, when they begin to yard, it becomes a preferred browse.  Deer yard up in swamp cedars, where there is a big thermal advantage. Ridge and high ground cedar rarely ever gets touched. Why? Because its much colder there, and the deer just are not there to eat it.

[SwampDonkey]

Up my way I would suggest something like Jeff said. Along the highway here where it was scraped to rocks and gravel the deer can't get to it because of fencing. I have seen deer on river banks standing on hind legs to reach cedar greens. My woods have cedar patches, but the deer don't winter there and no browse except by hares on smaller ones. And not that much, they like little spruce trees more I think.  Too many predators on my place for deer. The place is running away with coyotes and bear.

[KEC]

Thanks for the responses. Makes sense. I've always found it interesting how deer don't eat cedar until it is cold and snowy.

[Magicman]

Maybe when it is cold and snowy, that is the only thing left to eat  

[Jeff]

Maybe when it is cold and snowy, that is the only thing left to eat 

On my place there is a lot of red osier dogwood that was planted 20 years ago, which they like. It really spread around the front of the property as there had been zero deer around here in past winters. Last spring I could see where it was browsed on almost everywhere. That was an easy winter for our local, so the deer did not yard, so I had deer there all winter.

This winter was an old fashioned U.P. winter. I've had many deer sign since early feb.  The dogwood just grew back thicker.

[SwampDonkey]

Moose like red osier to. I was once on a back road that was once settled, but mainly camps back that far now. The ditches were full of nipped red osier and moose tracks and poo piles. We don't have to plant it around here, leave a field alone and it will will be covered in it. I cut it every spring on the house lot along the south line. It's like trying to get rid of raspberries. Unless there is a tree canopy over it, it just keeps spreading.



I just took that picture today. And the ditch is growing with it up the road past my house to. I've set some oak along the edge of that small piece last spring, so that may control it. They are just small seedlings so I staked them. A squirrel buried a bunch of oak in the mulch under my elderberries and they came up like weeds. I grabbed a bunch and sunk them in.

[PoginyHill]

Maybe when it is cold and snowy, that is the only thing left to eat 

I think this is true. When I cut cedar when there is bare ground (no matter what time of year), deer don't normally come around much. But in winters like this with heavy snow cover, they arrive within hours of me leaving the woods and chew away on the slash I left. I've seen that this month when we went from 2ft of snow cover to mostly bare ground within a week.