Calycanthus 'Aphrodite'

Aphrodite's large, vibrant green leaves and burgundy flowers bring color to your yard throughout the summer, and the 4-inch-wide blooms fill your garden with a sweet apple scent. The plant will attract butterflies and hummingbirds with its large blossoms. In the winter, the fragrant bark keeps your yard smelling delightfully fragrant.

Aphrodite is easy to grow. It thrives in sun and tolerates some shade, and it is not sensitive to heat or drought. Whether your soil retains water or drains well, it will serve as an ideal home for this versatile plant.

The fully developed shrub can grow to 7 feet tall and 6 feet wide. Plant Aphrodite as a hedge or as a border. The shrub is ideal for zones 5 to 9.

• Butterflies like a lot of sunlight, so locate your garden in a sunny area.


• If you live in a windy location, plant your butterfly-attracting plants near a building, fence, or hedge to protect them.


• Plant a variety of nectar-rich plants, as well as shrubs and evergreens for shelter.


• Since many butterflies and native flowering plants have co-evolved, try to put in some that are native to your area. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildlife Center provides lists of plants native to states and regions.


• Certain colors are particularly attracting to butterflies – red, yellow, pink, purple, or orange blooms that are clustered or flat-topped, with a short flower tubes are especially attractive to adult butterflies.


• Avoid using pesticides, especially around nectar-producing plants.


• Provide a shallow source of water – try a birdbath with pebbles lining the bowl.


• Place a rock in a sunny spot for butterfly basking and resting.


• Create a "puddling area" by digging a shallow hole filled with compost or manure where rainwater will collect and release essential salts and minerals.


• If you want butterflies to breed in your garden, put in some caterpillar food plants, such as parsley, milkweeds, asters, thistles, violets, clover, grasses, and Queen Anne’s Lace.


• Since butterflies need nectar throughout the entire adult phase of their lives, try to create a design that will allow for a continuous bloom – when one stops blooming, another starts.

As the deer population has boomed and food has become scarcer, they have become more aggressive. In some areas deer will strip your garden bare, leaving nothing green or flowery behind. While there is no such thing as a completely deer-proof garden, there are some effective things you can do to protect your garden from these hungry animals.

Use physical barriers

A High Fence
Deer can jump pretty high, but a fence higher than eight feet (higher on an up-slope) and flush with the ground will keep any deer out.

Electric Fences
They are a much easier and less expensive solution. Deer generally will not try to jump electric fences, but will rather try to climb through the wires, receiving a deterring shock.

Bird-Netting
An even less extreme physical option is to put bird netting over your larger and more susceptible plants.

Plant Deer-resistant Varieties

Herbs, some conifers, and many flowers are some of the best deer-resistant plants. More fragrant plants will often deter predation. Planting just a few deer-resistant plants will limit grazing of your other plants. Remember, "deer-resistant" does not mean deer-proof. A hungry animal will eat just about anything.

Having a dog In the Family

Owning a dog, especially a big dog will almost always keep deer from approaching your home. Just the scent of the dog will keep most deer away, and if your dog lives outside you will probably never see any deer.

For most gardeners, it is a combination of different solutions that works best. Every gardener has to find the solution that works best in their garden.

Shop All Deer-resistant Plants

Calycanthus Floridus
Carolina Allspice

Planting:

Easily transplanted. Set out about 10 feet apart. Will grow in sun or shade, taller in the latter. Widely adaptable as to soil types, will grow in acid or alkaline soils, but best in a deep, moist loam.

Maintenance:

Requires little attention. What pruning is needed is to maintain desirable form should be done after flowering.

Zones:

Zones 4 to 9.

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