Deer Orchard™ Starter Pack | Zones 8-10

A new and exciting option for wildlife that is so attractive you may want some for your landscape as well! Part of the botanically confused group of similar-appearing red oaks found in northern Mexico, this is likely a new, undescribed species, or a regional form of a highly variable species originally collected in the San Carlos Mountains by John Fairey and Carl Schoenfeld. Trialed at The John Fairey Garden for a few decades, and originally released to ornamental horticulture through Yucca Do Nursery, it has proven to be a drought, heat and cold resistant tree that produces masses of small acorns like clockwork every year. Tardily deciduous, it will hold onto its leaves through warmer winter areas (zone 8 and up) into late January or February, and the new leaves emerge a hot pink color in March accompanied by bright yellow dangling pollen catkins. In zone 7 it may defoliate earlier depending on the winter, but either the tree can provide cover well into winter in the areas it can be successfully grown.

A wide-ranging tree that is adaptable to a diverse array of habitats, from the baking hot, dry limestone “Hill Country” of central Texas to moist floodplain margins in central Florida, while also enduring the cold winters in the northern extent of its range from Iowa to southern New England. Over time it will produce shoots from the roots, forming a colony of trunks that provide valuable cover for wildlife. The orange fruit which can range up to the size of a small plum, begin ripening in fall and are often retained on the tree after leaf drop well into December in southern latitudes. Note that this species has separate male and female plants, so to ensure fruit production multiple plants of our unsexed saplings should be sited near each other to increase the chances that both sexes will be present.

This attractive, highly adaptable deciduous shrub provides foliage that deer will browse during the summer along with masses of purple berries along the stems which begin ripening in August and are retained on the plant after its leaves well into fall and even early winter in warmer zones, providing a late season food source for both deer and turkey. Native to much of the southeastern US, it is tolerant of full sun to medium shade, it fruits heaviest in brighter conditions. Quite drought tolerant once established and perfectly happy in any soil type from alkaline to acidic as long as the site is reasonably well-drained.

The sumac fruit is persistent on the shrub into winter. While the fruit may not be a favorite wildlife food, it is an important winter survival food. Birds, insects, and deer all use this shrub. It is the host for the hairstreak butterfly caterpillar. Deer will forage on the stems and fruit and birds will eat the berries in winter.