Will Laurel Grow Back After Deer?

Assessing the Damage

• How well a laurel plant recovers from damage caused by deer depends to some degree on how severely it's injured. Deer feed mostly at night and browse from plant to plant, with one deer potentially eating 6 or 8 pounds of plant material per day. According to Rutgers University, mountain laurel plants are a preferred food plant that can occasionally sustain significant damage, including breakage of main branches and loss of a large percentage of its leaves. If your plant has lost only a modest amount of foliage through nibbling of its leaves, keeping it well-watered should help it produce new growth to replace what's been lost. This can happen in the current season if foliage was lost in spring or early summer. If branches are damaged, splintered or completely broken, some pruning is in order to prevent further damage and help stimulate sprouting of new shoots.

Re-Shaping the Plant

• Although early spring is the best time for general pruning on an evergreen such as a laurel, it's best to deal with deer-induced damage whenever it arises. Prune back damaged branches just behind the damaged area or cut off the broken end of the branch, making cuts ahead of outward facing buds to help maintain a bushy, well-branched form. If a branch is broken or damaged near the plant's base, it's best to remove the remainder of the branch at its origin to stimulate the plant to develop a healthy new shoot at that spot. To prevent spread of disease, disinfect your pruning knife or shears by wiping the blade with rubbing alcohol or a 10 percent solution of bleach between cuts.

Supporting New Growth

• After trimming a laurel bush and removing the damaged branches and twigs, water the plant regularly for the next few weeks, aiming for about 1 inch of water each week. Adding a 2-to-3-inch layer of organic mulch such as straw or shredded bark can help the plant through dry spells by conserving soil moisture, while also keeping down competing weeds. You can also spur new growth by applying a balanced, granular fertilizer such as a 10-10-10 formula at the rate of 1 pound per 100 square feet of area around the root zone, but avoid doing this in late fall, because too much new growth might be harmed by winter cold. Laurel is a fast grower and, if deer damage occurred early in the season, it could put out about 1 foot of new growth in the current year.

Preventing New Problems

• If a mountain laurel sustains damage from deer, preventing future problems can be a key to the plant's ultimate survival. According to the University of California Integrated Pest Management Program, the best way to prevent further damage is to keep deer from entering the area by using a fence or other barrier, or a repellent or frightening device to persuade the deer to go elsewhere. A tall fence or series of tight wires on fence posts can be successful barriers when 7 or 8 feet tall, but this might not be feasible in all areas. Encircling an individual laurel plant or a grouped planting with deer repellent, which can be purchased at garden centers, can be effective, but might need periodic replacement.