Winter annuals can be limited to a handful of colorful pansies and some foliage plants, especially in Raleigh and surrounding areas. While pansies can be a show stopper, one of the main pests that ravage pansies is deer. It’s a tasty treat in the winter landscape for beds near wood lines. In North Carolina, that can be almost anywhere.
At Commercial Landscape Management ,Deer netting the beds seems to be the winner for best ways to keep deer out. Chemicals wear off fast in the rain and can be offensive to the nose near doorways and walking paths. The problem with netting is it inhibits the crew pulling weeds and deadheading to keep pansies blooming. Another problem is that some property managers just don’t like the look of netting. Leaves can get stuck in the deer netting and the beds don’t look clean for long after the crews leave.
We can get around pansy and netting issues by using deer resistant foliage plants that work well in cold weather. Acorus Ogan, or sweet flag, is one great plant that can help bring color to your Commercial Property or HOA community. It has a lime green color and wispy grass like leaves. There is also a wide variety of coral bells, or heuchera, that can bring in some orange or purple. Dianthus, or sweet William, likes to bloom when the temperature is above freezing, and can be used in annual beds sparingly for some surprise color in fair weather. The rest of the time they look like green grass and hold that color well here. Splashing in a limited amount of ornamental mustards for some purple appeal and height helps too. Use sparingly, colder weather will affect it. Ornamental Artichokes do well and have a pretty silver color .
Using these plants in an interesting design are great ways to make the crews’ lives easier and keep beds looking clean and amazing all winter.
If you are looking to add some color to your property during and otherwise colorless season contact Commercial landscape management here and one of our Pride members will be more than happy to assist you!