Do Deer Like Silver Lace Vine?

Deer-Resistant Plants

• Although listed as a deer-resistant plant, silver lace vine isn't invulnerable to deer attack. During droughts and extreme cold periods or when other environmental factors stress deer, they eat almost anything. However, under ordinary conditions, deer don't find silver lace vine palatable. Other ways to protect your landscape and garden are to install at least 6-foot-tall fencing; own a large, noisy dog; or use repellents, all of which have drawbacks, including cost and upkeep.

Growth

• A fast-growing plant, silver lace vine reaches 20 to 35 feet, quickly covering arbors, trellises and fences and providing shade for deer to rest in. Medium-green, oval to heart-shaped leaves are thin and 2 1/2 inches long. Native to China and Tibet, silver lace vine grows in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 8. It prefers full sun but tolerates partially shady areas that receive four to six hours of sun daily. The plant is drought tolerant once established but needs regular watering during the first year. Prune the vine in early spring to keep it to the desired size.

Landscaping Value

• Silver lace vine lives up to its name during its long bloom period from late summer into early fall. Small, fragrant, greenish-white to pinkish-white flowers occur in profusion, with the long, branching, erect flower clusters rising above the foliage in a lacy effect. Additional color comes from bronze to reddish new growth. The leaves turn yellow in the fall. Use silver lace vine for screening, shade and quick concealment of unsightly fences, perhaps even those you install to protect other, tastier plants from deer. Outside of pruning, it needs little care once established and can even become weedy in optimum growing conditions.

Propagation

• Root silver lace vine from cuttings, by layering or division. For cuttings, dip the stem in rooting hormone and put it in a pot with moist quality potting mix. Put the pot in the shade loosely enclosed in a plastic bag and keep it moist. For layering, bend a shoot down to the ground and wound it with a knife where it touches the ground. Apply rooting hormone to the wound and bury the area in a shallow trench. Check for roots after a few months. When rooted, cut the new plant from the mother plant, dig it up and transplant it. To divide a plant, in the early spring, cut it back and dig it up. Shake off extra soil, and separate the plant into clumps containing three to five shoots each. Replant the clumps at their original depth and water them thoroughly.